


Cupid's Shuffle

by Reader115



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Although most humans dont know the mythical being exist, M/M, Modern setting with existence of mythical beings, OCs because Keith has to go on terrible dates with some randos, cupid!lance, fluff that leads to a happily ever after, sexual content in that final chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 09:01:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22847593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reader115/pseuds/Reader115
Summary: If he doesn't help Keith Kogane fall in love, Lance will lose his job as Cupid
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 344
Kudos: 719





	1. Chapter 1

Keith sighed as he clicked the link in the email that would connect him to the company’s new safety manual. 

“I know you can hear me.” 

Since Heather quit last week, he now had his regular assignments as well as several of her projects to handle. 

“Keith, come on, man.” 

That equaled at least six different proposals to work on today, but sure, this was a great time to force everyone in the company to stop and review a new version of the safety manual. 

“Keith. Keiiiith. Keithy Keith-Keith-Keith. Keithers.” 

How different could this manual be from the last version? Rinse if chemicals get in your eyes or on your skin. Remember PASS for the fire extinguisher. Leave your belongings behind in case of fire. 

“ _Ugggggh_ ,” the being behind him whined. “You're so annoying.” 

“I’m annoying?” Keith muttered incredulously towards his screen. “I’m not the one repeating your name over and over —” 

“You haven’t even asked me for my name. Its Lance, by the way.” 

“— and I'm actually at work right now, so if you could stop talking to me. Go float somewhere else...” 

“You know none of my other charges are this difficult.” 

“Very important safety manual review going on here,” Keith sighed as he scrolled through the manual, mainly just to try to find the button that would indicate he’d been here so he could get back to his regular work. 

“The first rule upon discovering a fire is ‘ _Do not shout fire_!’” Lance began to read over his shoulder. “Do you think anyone in the history of the world has followed that rule? I mean, are you supposed to whisper it instead? Say nothing? Quickly exit the building and hope people follow? What kind of rule is this!” 

Keith leaned sideways in his seat, trying to block the screen from the Lance’s view. 

It didn’t seem to matter. 

“Hey, guys,” Lance mocked, “nothing to see over here but we all need to leave the building right now.” 

Keith continued to try to ignore him and scrolled further through the document. 

“Oh, never mind,” Lance said, voice returned to normal, “look, one page and five steps later — you’re supposed to vocally inform all individuals in the immediate vicinity. But I guess quietly? I mean, I’d count yelling _‘fire’_ as vocally informing.” 

“You don’t seem to stop _vocally informing_ at all,” Keith grumbled. 

“Also, do not use telephones, except for emergency calls. Once again that doesn’t make sense? Fires are emergencies? Like, what’s the alternative use here? A casual chit chat call? Throw the phone at someone? Can you imagine you go home and your partner is all, _‘How was your day?_ ’” 

“Please stop,” Keith groaned, letting his forehead fall to his desk. 

“Well, dearest,” Lance continued, voice apparently imitating the common office worker, “Karen whispered _fire_ in my office doorway and then threw her phone at me. It was all very strange but spot on with the safety manual.” 

Keith hated that that made him snort into the wood of his desk. He hoped Lance didn’t hear him, but when he sat up and spun around in his chair to face him, Lance’s smirk told him his response has been heard. 

“I really do have to work,” Keith stated, “so what can I say to make you go away?” 

“Well, _you may remember,_ but I tried to talk to you in your apartment last night, which I had assumed would be a more convenient location and time for you.” 

“Yes, I remember coming home last night and finding you floating above my couch.” 

“Yeah, well, you threw your boots at me — an apology for that would still be nice —” 

“Uh, no, uninvited intruders do not get apologies. I was defending myself.” 

“ _From what_?” Lanced challenged as he leaned down to swing his arm towards Keith. 

Keith shivered involuntarily as the transparent arm swooped towards his chest, he scooted his desk chair back before it could try to make contact. He was _almost_ sure he wouldn't be able to feel it, but there was still a... sensation with the action. 

“I didn’t know at the time that you weren't a crazy burglar,” Keith defended.

“I was floating above your couch! Obviously not a normal burglar.” 

“Not all ghosts are friendly!” 

“I’m not a ghost! I'm a Cupid. _Your_ Cupid, to be specific, and I'm here to make sure your ass falls in love!” 

Keith frowned at that exclamation. Yeah, Lance had tried to tell him this last night, but Keith had been so freaked out from finding a floating transparent being in his apartment that he’d ignored almost everything Lance had said before grabbing Kosmo and racing over to Shiro’s place to spend the night. He’d begun to wonder if his terrible blind date from earlier in the evening had slipped something into his drink. 

But then Lance had appeared in the parking lot of Keith’s job this morning, startling Keith so badly that he’d dropped his coffee. And as Keith moved throughout the office building, and Lance trailed behind talking non-stop, no one else seemed surprised to see a ghost-like creature. 

It was as if no one else could see him. 

Keith would rather believe Lance was a cupid (and not a ghost) over the other thought, which was that he was completely losing his mind. 

“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, either you’re completely losing your mind or I'm telling the truth. Can we just skip to the part where you believe me? I know you, dude, and you’re pretty practical, but you also believe in like, Bigfoot and Nessie, so I shouldn’t be too far a stretch for you.” 

Keith’s eyes narrowed then. “What do you think you know about me?” 

“Oh!” Lance almost giddily rubbed his hands together. He seemed to settle himself in a seated (floated) position above one of Keith’s filing cabinets, ankle crossed over the opposite knee. “Here we go. Things I know about Keith Kogane. Number one” — Lance’s hand lifted in the air so he could count on his fingers as he went along — “you count your brother Shiro and your dog, Kosmo, as your favorite people.” 

Keith shrugged. That seemed like a good guess. 

Lance lifted another finger. “Two, your favorite food is fast food, which just tells me you need someone to cook you a real home-cooked meal, especially since I know the only thing you actually know how to cook is popcorn and that’s a literal button on the microwave.” 

Keith scowled but didn’t disagree. 

“Three, you'd like to have a real conversation with a hippo — you do realize they’re a very dangerous animal, right?” 

Keith’s scowl fell off his face as his eyebrows lifted. That was... fairly specific and not something he’d actually ever told anyone before. 

“Four, you’re good at this job, but you don’t particularly like it. Five, you actually love sitting through the previews before movies at the theater.” Another hand lifted to join the first as Lance continued to count. “Six, you have fun watching baseball games in person, but refuse to watch them on television. Seven, you’re a serious lightweight with alcohol. Eight, your last serious relationship was over a year ago with Thomas, a selfish, mooching jerkface who —” 

“ _Stop_.” Keith slouched in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest. Thoughts of Thomas were always the fastest way to drag down his entire day. 

Lance lowered his hands, expression somewhat sympathetic as he considered Keith. 

“It didn’t work out with him for a reason, you know?” 

Keith shrugged one shoulder and glanced out his window towards the parking lot. “You don’t look like Cupid.” 

“Yeah, go figure, Cupid is not actually a baby,” Lance said, tone so dry that it made half of Keith’s mouth quirk up in a grin, which in turn seemed to delight Lance because his smile took over his face. 

“I’m willing to believe Cupid is not a baby in a diaper,” Keith conceded as he let himself fully look at Lance — transparent or not, his skin still managed to look darker than Keith’s fair complexion, his short shaggy brown hair looked fairly soft, striking blue eyes, broad shoulders, long, long legs — Keith swung his eyes back up to Lance’s face. “But how about some of the other Cupid theories? Are the wings a myth, too?” 

“Nope.” 

Keith raised an eyebrow at Lance’s current lack of wings. 

“Oh, you want to see?” 

Lance’s smirk belied his innocent tone and Keith had only a moment to wonder if he should be worried before a flash of light had him ducking his head. Squinting his eyes slowly open, his mouth fell open at the sight of two beautiful white wings that stemmed from Lance’s back and were currently forced to curl along the walls in order to remain in his office. They filled the entire space, but Keith felt save within them, despite the fact that they gave the impression of trapping him and blocking the exit. 

The wings emitted a bright but soft blue light and Keith rose from his seat and stepped closer to one wing so that he could see that it consisted of actual glowing feathers. Keith reached a hand out to slide his fingers over the feathers and actually gasped at how soft they were. The feathers under his touch fluttered and he jerked his hand back as he realized what he'd just done.

“Uh, sorry,” Keith muttered, immediately backing away until his legs hit his desk chair. “I shouldn’t have just touched like that without asking.” 

Lance bit his lip, but didn’t respond other than to continue to stare intently at the area where Keith had touched. 

“So, uh, do they work? Can you fly?” 

Lance scoffed, snapping out of whatever thoughts had consumed him a moment before. “Of course I can fly. How else would I get places?” He shifted in his non-existent seat, causing the wings to shift as well and the one closest to Keith actually knocked into one of his computer monitors. The monitor tilted and threatened to tip it over, if not for Keith grabbing it quickly to stabilize it. 

There was a surprised hum from Lance as the wings quickly retracted, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared, although with less of a light show than before. 

“Should they have been able to move the screen like that?” Keith guessed at Lance's odd reaction. 

“I’m sure it’s no big deal,” Lance said dismissively, hand waving in the air as he spoke. “Any other questions?” 

“You don’t have a bow and arrow hidden somewhere on your person as well, do you?” 

Lance made a show of opening both sides of his baggy jacket, revealing the surprisingly plain t-shirt underneath (Keith wasn’t sure what he thought Cupid would wear, but a baseball tee and jeans probably wasn’t it) before saying, “Nah, they outlawed shooting unsuspecting charges eons ago with the ‘ _Free Will to_ _Love_ ’ movement.” Lance scratched the side of his cheek. “Maybe two generations ago?” 

“That’s - that’s good to know.” 

“I mean, sometimes I'll still head to the archery range and practice,” Lance shrugged, “but that’s just for fun. I like to keep my name on top of the score board down there.” 

Keith tried and failed not to picture Lance with his eyes intently trained on a target, bow and arrow held between delicate fingers... He physically shook his head to clear it. 

“Okay, _Cupid_ , why do you care if I’m in love or not?” 

The following silence had Keith lifting his eyes again to look at Lance. If the floating and transparency didn’t give away the fact that he wasn’t human, the way his blue eyes seemed to glow from within certainly would. Right now, those blue eyes were narrowed and studying Keith closely. Then Lance sighed heavily (although, did he actually need to breathe?) and said, “This is going to be even harder than I thought.” 

“What? Why?” Keith asked, offended on his own behalf. 

“Difficult case or not —” 

“ _Difficult_?” 

“— that does not mean you don’t want to be in love,” Lance said plainly. “And no, not everyone wants to be in love. That was admittedly a hard lesson for the older generations to learn, but you... Well” —Lance scratched his cheek again — “number nine fact that I know about Keith Kogane? He’d like to be in love.” 

Now it was Keith’s turn to scoff. “How can you think you know that when I don’t even know that? That’s not — that’s not even something I would say about myself.” 

Lance waved at him, polite grin on his face. “Hi, I’m your Cupid and I can literally read your heart.” 

Keith rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t mean — look, even if that was true, that doesn’t mean I want to do anything about it _right now_.” 

Lance was shaking his head before Keith even finished speaking. “I know you’re trying to convince yourself of that, and admittedly, after watching your last couple dates, I definitely asked for an extension and my supervisor said absolutely not.” 

“You have a supervisor?” Keith asked, deciding with his entire being not to bring up the fact that apparently Lance had seen his last couple disaster dates. 

“Yes, the Cupid department does not run itself.” 

“So, you’re one of many Cupids?” 

“Correct.” 

“Have you always been _my_ Cupid?” 

“No. If I had, I would’ve steered you away from Thomas the selfish, mooching jerkface who —” 

“I got it,” Keith cut him off. 

“When our new supervisor, who hates me, by the way, challenged me with your _very difficult_ case, I thought I could impress them by assuring her that _Loverboy Lance_ could definitely handle it. Unfortunately, she followed up my claim by saying that I had better find you a match or I'd find myself out of a job.” 

Keith’s mouth dropped open again as he also dropped back into his desk chair. “I have to fall in love or you’ll be _fired_?” 

“That is what she said,” Lance shrugged. “I told you, she hates me.” 

“How is hate even allowed in the Cupid department?” 

“Cupids help you mortals fall in love. We’re not all in love with each other,” Lance explained with an eye roll. 

“Do all Cupids reveal themselves like this?” 

“No,” Lance sighed. “But, as I said, difficult case and my career is on the line. Desperate times and all that.” 

“This is... weird.” 

“Yeah, but if you don’t have any more questions? I’m going to need you to actually participate.” 

Keith sighed and glanced out his office window again. “Fine, what do you need me to do?” 


	2. Chapter 2

“First, we have to work on your online dating profile.” 

Keith pushed his apartment door shut behind him and unhooked Kosmo’s leash. Lance hadn’t been here when he’d returned home from work earlier, so as he left to take Kosmo for his nightly walk, he’d thought maybe he was getting a reprieve from talking about his love life tonight. Apparently, he’d thought wrong. 

“I don’t have one.” 

“I _know_ ,” Lance complained from where he floated above the couch. “You’re lucky you’re cute and your friends have been patiently setting you up on dates. But, by adding in a couple dating apps, we’re going to expose you to more people. Increase the chance that you’ll find the right person for you.” 

Keith stammered while trying to grumble that Lance “Sounds like a dating app commercial” while trying to ignore the fact that Lance had just so casually called him cute. He grabbed a glass of water before approaching the couch, “Wait, you want me to _expose_ myself?” 

Lance’s eyes got caught on Keith’s smirk and the teasing look in his eye. He thought about some of the descriptors in Keith’s file — _angry, serious, not humorous, uninterested in flirting_ — and wondered if the Cupid who had written that report had ever even _paid attention_ to Keith. 

He let his eyes travel purposefully down Keith’s body before rising slowly to his eyes again. “I think you’d be fine with a little exposure, Keith,” he said smoothly. 

Then Lance had the pleasure of watching pink bloom over Keith’s face, even darker than a few moments before when Lance had called him cute. Not only was Keith funny, but Lance also internally scoffed at the idea that Keith wasn’t interested in flirting. From what Lance had seen, Keith was often _unaware_ that he was even being flirted _with_. 

“First, you need a decent picture, do you have any good selfies?” 

The flat look Keith sent him, which effectively killed his blush, was all the response Lance received. 

“Okay, so step one, take a selfie.” 

Keith groaned but finally sat on the couch before obediently opening the camera app on his phone. Lance leaned in to see Keith’s screen. 

“Not here. See all that junk on the table?” Lance pointed to the table visible behind Keith in the shot. “Guys are gonna think you lead a cluttered lifestyle.” 

“That’s not junk, its mail and — wait, seriously? A cluttered lifestyle?” 

“I have so much to teach you,” Lance breathed. “Yes, every single detail in the photos you post will be severely critiqued by every person who looks at them.” 

“Well, maybe I don’t want someone who can’t handle a little mail on a table?” Keith growled, hand tightening around his phone. “Or anyone who would judge that harshly.” 

Lance tilted his head at the outburst and tried to consider the source. He lowered himself to appear as if he was sitting on the couch so he could be eye level with Keith. “This isn’t about finding another Thomas, you know?” He asked softly. 

Keith broke the eye contact and scowled at the coffee table. “I don’t —” Keith paused for a moment, scowled harder at the table, and then visibly steeled himself to continue. “I don’t know how this Cupid stuff actually works, but my last Cupid thought Thomas was a good idea, right? They just let me... date him without stopping me? So, guys like Thomas are a good match for me? That’s who I deserve to be with?” 

“ _No_ ,” Lance snapped, earning a surprised look from Keith. “Thomas the selfish, mooching jerkface is _not_ who you deserve. I'm your Cupid this time around, Keith, and I’m going to make sure you end up with someone who is worthy of you.” 

Lance couldn’t tell by Keith’s expression if he truly believed him or not, but Keith visibly deflated into the couch, raised shoulders lowered and hand loosening around his phone. 

“And, look, it’s just human nature to critique pictures when it’s one of the few things you can learn about someone online. You just have to present your best features first, so you can get through the door to an actual date.” 

Keith sighed, but a moment later, he rose to his feet, gathered the mail to relocate it to one of the kitchen counters, and then returned to his seat next to Lance on the couch. 

“Better?” Keith asked quietly. 

Lance rewarded him with a grin. “Let’s see.” He leaned into Keith’s space to look at the screen again and found Keith staring back at him through the camera app. Keith’s eyes, which Lance thought were the prettiest and most unique eyes he’d ever seen on a person, immediately captured his attention. It was a reflex for him to lift a hand and brush Keith’s bangs out of his face so that those eyes could be properly photographed. 

Reflex or not, that didn’t mean he should be able to make contact, and his hand jerked away the moment that silky hair was physically between his fingers. 

Keith, however, didn’t move away from Lance’s touch. He merely turned his head away from the camera to consider Lance properly. “You looked shocked,” Keith finally decided. “Are you shocked that you actually touched me?” 

“It’s no big deal.” _It was sort of a big deal, Lance had never physically interacted with a human in his entire Cupid experience_. “Clearly just happens when I need to help one of my charges.” Lance waved his hand about before pointing back at the screen. “Quit trying to delay selfie time.” 

Keith’s eyes narrowed the smallest bit as they searched his face. Thankfully, he didn’t press the issue. Instead he turned back to his phone and reactivated the sleeping camera. 

“It’s weird that you’re not in the picture,” Keith stated, shifting the phone purposely to where Lance was located, getting only a shot of the couch instead. “Do you even know what you look like?” 

“Uh, _yeah_ , devilishly handsome, right?” 

He'd delivered it as a joke, with a cheesy grin and finger guns added in, but Keith’s face tinged sweetly pink again. And he looked back at Lance with an expression that was so... Listen, Lance didn’t require any Cupid abilities to recognize an expression that _fond_ , okay? He glanced at the phone in Keith’s hand and decided to take a chance. He reached out himself and pushed the button at the bottom of the screen. 

The click of the camera surprised them both, but Lance was equally pleased to see a perfect Keith picture captured on the screen. And if Lance had to live knowing that Keith (with his hair out of his pretty eyes, and his cheeks pink, and his expression fond) had this perfect photo because Lance had had that effect on him? So be it. Whatever helped Keith find love in the long run. Right? 

“Profile picture,” Lance stated as he nodded towards the shot. 

Keith hummed in response, but his attention seemed to be focused on Lance’s hand. “I want to ask if you should be able to touch my phone like that, but I don’t think you’re going to answer me.” 

Lance cleared his throat. “Next, you need to start downloading some of the dating apps so we can work on the rest of your profile responses.” 

* * *

Keith preferred lunch at his desk. He hated the break room small talk and if he worked through lunch, he could leave sooner at the end of the day and get Kosmo out for a decent walk. 

Although, while still seated at his desk during lunch today, he wasn’t exactly working. He’d promised Lance he’d at least open the dating apps today to check for possible matches. Under Lance’s tutelage, he’d labeled himself as looking for a local, serious relationship with a guy within his age range who was preferably already employed (“ _No more moochers, Keith”_ ). Those requests seemed tame, but they also sounded like a fairly tall order in Keith’s personal (limited) experience. 

So, he was surprised to find that he already had 2 generated matches and one independent request for contact. He swiped through the profiles of all three guys, initially dismissing each because none had eyes the right shade of blue or smiles wide enough to overtake their faces. 

He startled with the realization that he was comparing possible romantic interests to _Lance_. Although, it probably made sense that Keith would develop a crush on the first guy to be nice to him in literal years, but Keith still needed to remember that Lance’s job was on the line. Nice and funny and handsome as Lance was, he was still off limits for Keith’s dating purposes. 

He sighed and pushed away thoughts of Lance’s eyes and smiles and returned to his possible matches to review them with fresh eyes. 

* * *

“Hypothetically, what would you wear on a date?” 

“ _Jesus H. Christ, Lance,_ ” Keith gasped upon finding Lance floating in his bedroom as he walked in from the shower wearing just a towel around his waist. 

“What?” Lance asked from where he hovered near Keith’s closet. 

“I know you’re not used to interacting directly,” Keith grumbled, beelining for his dresser and missing the way Lance’s eyes trailed over his naked chest, “but maybe knock or yell over the sound of the shower so I know you’re here. What if I'd come in here naked?” 

Lance let a smirk pull at his lips. “ _Oh_ , you‘re _shy_. I forgot about the exposure thing.” 

“ _Lance_ ,” Keith admonished, arms full of clothes as he walked right back out of his bedroom and back to the bathroom to get halfway decent. 

Lance chuckled in response and waited patiently for Keith to return. “So, clothes? For a date tonight?” 

“Tonight? Already?” Keith’s arms crossed over his chest as nerves began to dance across his face. 

“Yes, definitely _already_. You’ve got at least eighteen date requests on the first app alone. Time to step on the gas.” 

“Eighteen!” Keith gaped at him. “It was only three at lunchtime.” 

“I’m glad you checked earlier,” Lance said with a pleased grin. “But why are you surprised? You’ve got that ‘ _I’m adorable but also a bad boy in need of taming_ ’ look going.” 

“Wow, Lance,” Keith said dryly. “Wow. 

Lance only smirked in return and enjoyed the pink blush on Keith’s face. 

“If I'm going out tonight, I have to call Shiro to see if he’s free to go out tonight, too.” 

That stopped Lance in his floating tracks. “Huh?” 

Keith at least had the decency to look embarrassed at what he was about to suggest for his date night. 

“Well, I let it slip to Shiro that I'd downloaded some dating apps and he’s already pretty convinced that my last date drugged me or something because I ran to his place right after talking about a ghost in my apartment” — he shot Lance a significant look — “and he’s pretty insistent that he meet whoever I go out with next to make sure they’re not a serial killer or something.” 

“ _I’m_ going with you. I'll make sure you’re kept safe on the dates —” 

“Well, I can’t tell my brother _that_.” 

“Keith! Remember how we talked about making eye contact and smiling and small talk and other niceties that should always be included in a first date? Here’s another very strong suggestion: you can’t take your distractedly good-looking brother on a first date with you as a chaperone!” 

Keith looked frankly appalled by this declaration and Lance had only a moment to wonder _why_ before Keith was saying, “You think my brother is so good looking that I won’t be able to keep my date’s attention on _me_?” 

Lance actually snorted in response. That teasing gleam had returned to Keith’s eyes as he stomped his way back over to his dresser. 

“I’ll show you who’s distracting,” Keith muttered as he yanked open a drawer. 

“What are you doing?” Lance asked, doing his best to keep the laughter out of his voice. 

“I know there’s a crop top in here somewhere. You want to see what I’m gonna wear for this date?” 

First, Lance released the laughter he’d been trying to hold back, and then he released his wings, the bright flash Keith’s only warning before he used the wings to crowd around Keith and try to shoo him away from the dresser drawer. “No, bad Keith!” 

Keith gasped with laughter as his hands flew up to block the wing-generated wind from his face. “Stop it! Put your tornado wings away!” 

“No brothers and no crop tops on this first date. I can’t believe I even have to say these things!” 

Lance kept the wings moving until the wind literally knocked Keith on his ass. He tried to glare up at Lance from the floor, but the way his lower lip protruded had Lance cooing over his pout. 

“Are you ready to go pick out a nice button down from your closet now?” Lance asked sweetly. 

Keith rolled his eyes as he pushed himself back to his feet. He headed to his closet, muttering about evil Cupids and did his best to hide his smile. 

* * *

When Keith’s case had originally been presented in a staff meeting, a quick review of Keith’s file had Lance believing Keith would be a difficult case because of _Keith_. The last relationship had been a disaster, there had been zero second dates since then, and Keith’s descriptors — _angry, serious, not humorous, uninterested in flirting_ — weren’t too positive. 

So, Lance took on Keith’s case, and while he was rightly confused when the descriptors didn’t represent the sweet, snarky, and playful Keith he actually met, he still offered the basics on dating profiles and first date tips, which led to Keith dressed smartly in a button up over some black jeans, hair tamed into a ponytail, and eyes doing their best to hide his nervousness as he had stood outside one of his favorite restaurants, waiting on his date for the evening. 

Those few moments were probably the highlights of the evening. 

When Brandon had arrived, he had taken one look at the _Shrimp Shack’_ s interior, with its mismatched tables and nets and anchors decorating the walls, and announced he was allergic to shrimp and could they please go to the expensive steakhouse next door to eat instead (he didn’t call it the expensive steakhouse, Lance added that part, but Lance supposes an allergy is an allergy). 

“Plus, we can just walk over, no need to drive anywhere else,” Brandon had added, and Lance supposed that was true as well. 

Keith took it in stride, nodding in agreement and running with the small talk as he asked Brandon if he’d hit a lot of traffic on the way to the restaurant during the short walk next door. 

Lance mindfully kept a distance from them, doing his best to not be distracting so that Keith would keep his attention on his date (Lance didn’t want Keith’s date to catch Keith staring off at thin air frequently). 

After a forty-three minute wait (because they didn’t have a reservation) that included painful small talk (Keith was trying his best, but the guy had been more interested in studying the menu), they were finally seated at their white cloth-covered table. 

And Brandon promptly ordered lobster when the waiter tried to just take their drink order. 

Speaking of allergies, Lance had been along on enough dates to know that most people who were allergic to shrimp, were allergic to all shellfish, which included lobster. 

Keith apparently thought the same, given the way he was sliding his eyes over to Lance with a confused expression. 

Lance rubbed his temples with both hands. “Benefit of the doubt,” he murmured to Keith once he’d floated close enough for Keith to hear him. Maybe the guy was just allergic to shrimp and nothing else. Lance didn’t have access to the internet right this second, but that could be a thing. 

“This place is much nicer, eh?” Brandon asked. “I mean no offense to that shack place you picked, like, hopefully you don’t work there or anything, or have a strong loyalty to it, because I just never eat at places like that. I mean, you’ll never ever see me in a fast food place. Five stars all the way, you know?” 

Keith slid pitiful eyes in Lance‘s direction. 

The rest of the evening didn’t improve from there. 

* * *

The next guy, Shawn, suggested a diner, and Keith noted that at least there should be less of a chance for food allergies at a diner. 

Lance commended him on his optimism. 

Keith definitely appeared more relaxed in the diner booth, especially when Shawn led the small talk, taking additional pressure off Keith. 

Their meals hadn’t even arrived before Lance (and Keith, given the resigned look on his face) realized that every time Shawn asked Keith a question, he’d quickly answer it himself before Keith had a chance to open his mouth. 

“Do you live around here?” Shawn asked. “I live about two blocks away, so I certainly can’t get lost going home, right? Plus, its super close if you want to head back with me after. No Uber costs tonight, right? Unless you drove here? I don’t have a car right now, because it’s so easy to bus to work. Do you live far from your own job? Plus, I can pretty much walk or bus anywhere else I need to be. I mean, sometimes my friends give me rides, but that’s, like, going out of town trips. Have you been anywhere cool recently? My friends and I just took a trip to...” 

Keith looked a little shell-shocked by the time he got home that night. Lance didn’t blame him. 

* * *

Deciding to leave the restaurant scene behind, Lance suggested a change of venue. 

When they learned the next guy, Austin, also had a beloved dog, Keith had been adorably excited about involving their two pets. He’d suggested meeting Austin (and his dog, Puck), at a local dog park. 

Which turned out to be a great location choice because Keith had Kosmo to keep him entertained as Austin droned on and on about how his ex hated the dog park but was still fighting for custody over Puck. 

“He doesn’t even like dogs, he’s just doing it to irritate me,” Austin was saying while Keith threw another stick that Kosmo simply watched fly as he sat dutifully next to Keith. “He was always doing anything he could to irritate me, to be honest. I mean how hard is it to put dishes in the sink? I’m not even talking about loading the dishwasher, which is an entire other issue. He’d leave the dishes _next to_ the sink!” 

Lance’s mouth was a flat line of displeasure listening to this guy. He turned to Keith, “Your dog doesn’t know how to fetch.” 

“I know,” Keith said with a small chuckle. 

“Right?” Austin continued, leaving both Lance and Keith slightly confused since they’d missed what Austin had last said, but at least it fit into Austin’s previous ranting. 

Keith shrugged, already mentally checked out of this date. “I tried to teach him.” 

“I wish that would work,” Austin sighed. “I mean, I don’t want to be the guy who dumped someone because he couldn’t quite get his dirty clothes into the hamper, but come on!” 

Keith slid his eyes over to Lance in time to watch Lance throw his arms up in exasperation. 

* * *

Ted was forty minutes late to the pool hall (that Ted had suggested). Keith was polite anyway, especially when Ted offered to pick up the tab on their drinks as an apology. 

Ted seemed pleased to hear that Keith had never played pool before, although that pleasure quickly wore off when Keith refused to let Ted bend him over the table to show him how it was done. 

“I think I can figure it out,” Keith had said instead. 

“ _Damn right he can_ ,” Lance muttered in Ted’s general direction. 

Ted shrugged a shoulder and Lance rolled his eyes as Ted blatantly checked out Keith’s ass every time he took a shot. 

Apparently, Keith’s rear end was distracting enough that Ted didn’t even realize Keith was ahead until he won the first round (Lance would point that out to Keith later and it would be enough to get him laughing again). As a result of losing, Ted slammed his stick on the table (which attracted a lot attention that Lance knew Keith hated), called Keith a liar in regards to being a beginner, and then claimed to have forgotten his wallet before leaving without settling their drink tab. 

* * *

Lance encouraged Keith to move out of his comfort zone, so Keith agreed to a golfing date with Brian. 

Brian had decided it would be fun to go four-wheeling in the golf cart. Admittedly, Keith seemed into that, until the cart crashed in a sand dune and the jackass blamed Keith when the security team arrived to help. 

Keith said he hated golf, so he wasn’t too upset to be banned from that course. 

* * *

Mac wanted to meet while running (strange first date suggestion in Lance’s book, but Keith liked to work out and Lance _had been_ suggesting trying something outside the box). 

Keith had tried to reschedule when it looked like rain. Mac had scoffed and said real runners hit the pavement in all types of weather. 

Keith went on the running date as scheduled. And had to help Mac hobble two miles in the pouring rain back to his car when his calf cramped. 

Keith’s nose ran the entire next day and Lance was left feeling guilty about it. 

* * *

Keith sat at the bar, menu in hand when a guy plopped down on the seat next to him. Keith opened his mouth to say hello but got a single finger directed at him before the guy pointed at his ear piece. 

“Yeah, but we already tried that,” the guy (Keith was pretty sure this was tonight’s date - Simon) said, “I told the doc that cream didn’t work. Is there anything else she can prescribe? This rash just won’t go away.” 

Simon sent Keith an exasperated eye roll and Keith felt his stomach roll in distress. 

“Keith, get up” Lance insisted as he suddenly appeared next to him, arms crossed and eyes closed as if praying for patience. “Up, up, up. Let’s go. We're getting out of here.” 

* * *

By this point, Lance was fairly certain it wasn’t _Keith_ who was making his romantic life so difficult. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted that first chapter feeling like I was missing something in this story and maybe you guys would enjoy this story and comment AND maybe those comments would spark what I was missing. 
> 
> I also posted a request on Tumblr asking for realistic bad first dates, hoping you guys would respond. 
> 
> AND THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED and YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST. 
> 
> As a side note, based on comments from readers losing faith in humanity thinking that all of these dates are based on real life, let me clarify - none of these are word for word real dates from people - mainly because those real dates wouldn't fit in this world. BUT from every real date sent to me, I was able to take bits from them and apply them to at least 3 of these dates. The remainder I made up on my own. Hopefully that restores some of your faith <3 <3


	3. Chapter 3

“Morning,” Hunk sang as he stepped into the apartment elevator with Keith. 

“Hey, morning, Hunk,” Keith replied to his neighbor, raising his travel mug in a small salute before taking another sip as Hunk pressed the button for the basement parking level. 

“I’m going to try another recipe tonight, if you want to come over for dinner with me and Shay?” 

“Thanks, but I probably have another date.” 

“You can just tell me if you hate my cooking.” 

“You shut your entire face. No one can hate your cooking.” 

Hunk chuckled at that. “Thanks, man. I just meant — you’ve turned down my last several invites for dinner, and now you’re not even sure you’ve got a date for tonight but you’re already too busy to come over?” 

“Oh,” Keith said with a small frown. He hadn’t thought about what his recent booked schedule might look like to his friends, and he hadn’t meant to hurt Hunk and Shay’s feelings. The elevator doors opened and they walked together towards their cars. “I’m sorry I've been MIA for dinners lately.” He paused by his car and Hunk paused as well, his face as open and friendly as ever. “I’ve been making a more serious effort to get out and date, I guess. I even have a …" He frowned again, trying to decide how to describe Lance. “Like, a... scheduler?” 

“A matchmaker?” Hunk asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. 

Keith nodded furiously, “Yeah. That. He sets up the dates, so I'm sorry I don’t actually know yet if I'll have a date tonight, I'm just betting that I do.” 

“I gotcha, man. You really are taking this seriously.” 

Hunk offered another smile and Keith was thankful that Hunk looked impressed. 

“How are the dates going?” Hunk asked. 

“Uh, they’re... pretty terrible.” 

Hunk’s head tilted in confusion. “Then why do you look so happy?” 

“Oh,” Keith immediately tried to tame his smile down into something more manageable. “The, uh, matchmaker? He checks in after the dates and...” Keith shrugged his shoulder as he trailed off. 

“Cheers you up?” Hunk asked with a knowing grin. 

“I guess,” Keith said as he tried to bite back his grin. 

Hunk laughed outright. “Oh, dude. _Fine_. Spend your nights on terrible dates so you can laugh it up with your matchmaker afterwards. We love having you over, but I’m pretty sure Shay and I have never made you smile like that,” Hunk teased. 

Keith forced a small laugh for Hunk’s benefit before they said their goodbyes and Hunk continued to his own car. Keith got as far as putting the keys in his ignition and bucking his seatbelt before he dropped his forehead to his steering wheel and groaned. 

He hadn’t _meant_ to develop a crush on his Cupid. And he certainly hadn’t _meant_ to be obvious about it, but Hunk had him pegged in what? Two sentences? A smile? How long before Lance figured it out? How long before Lance _lost his job_ because Keith was falling for his unattainable Cupid instead of one of the available human guys he was meeting? He really was a difficult case, wasn’t he? 

Keith released a sigh and started his car before he made himself late to work. He’d resolved in the past that he’d take this seriously for Lance’s sake (and hopefully for his own) and he was just going to have to try his best to stick to that resolution. 

For Lance’s sake (and hopefully for his own). 

* * *

“ _Loverboy Lance_ ,” Ms. Sanda said with what Lance would swear was a sneer, “status update on the Kogane case?” 

“I’d still be interested in that extension?” Lance asked hopefully. 

“Going that well, hmm?” Allura commiserated from her seat beside him at the conference table. 

“Not a chance on the extension,” Ms. Sanda replied. 

“Look, he’s doing so well,” Lance offered. “He’s been open minded and goes into each date with _way_ more attention and patience than these guys deserve —” 

“Didn’t you say he spent one date talking to you about how hard his dog is to train?” Romelle muttered from his other side. 

Lance sent her a small side glare. “The problem is totally the _other_ guys! They're awful! Can I at least get the Cupid contact information for any future dates? Maybe if I team up with them and fix up their guys, they’d be good enough for Keith.” 

“I didn’t need help from another Cupid when I got Kogane into his last relationship,” Ms. Sanda gloated. “I told you couldn’t handle this one. Please don’t beg me to let you keep your job when we hit the deadline and Kogane is still tragically single.” 

Lance blew air out his nose and glared at the table in front of him. He’d rather do _literally anything_ other than beg Sanda to let him remain a Cupid. 

He knew he couldn’t say what he really wanted to at that moment. When he’d taken on Keith’s case, he’d reviewed his rather sparse love file before meeting him. It had included a few crushes from middle and high school, a short relationship with a guy Keith had met in the campus gym that had made Lance smile because someone had finally treated Keith sweetly, and then a dry spell until Keith and Thomas (the selfish, mooching jerkface) met and instantly began dating seriously. Lance still remembers the way Ms. Sanda, Keith’s Cupid at that time, had crowed in victory over the pairing, claiming to have solved one of the agency’s most difficult cases. 

Lance wanted to say something along the lines of Keith and Thomas being the exact _opposite_ of a successful case seeing as how Thomas had been a selfish, mooching jerkface and very much _not right_ for Keith. But he bit his tongue to avoid being fired immediately. 

“I’ll handle it,” Lance said instead. 

* * *

He shook his head at the two choices Keith had pulled from his closet and then ran a phantom hand over Kosmo’s head in an attempt to pet the furry beast. 

“This one?” Keith asked with a sigh as he offered a third shirt option. 

Lance floated closer to Keith and grinned at the choice. “I knew you’d get the hang of this fashion deal sooner or later.” He earned a few grumbles from Keith for that comment, but that just made his grin grow wider. 

When Keith pulled off his t-shirt, he heaved it in Lance’s general direction before he began to replace it with the new shirt. Keith was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice the way the old shirt actually bounced off Lance’s chest before falling to the floor. Lance stared down at the shirt, still not sure what it was about Keith or Keith’s belongings that allowed the direct contact to occur. He wondered if he should say something to someone back at the office about it. 

“So, what are we doing tonight?” Keith asked, turning back towards him. “Not a dating app date?” 

Lance shook his head and followed Keith out of the bedroom to the main room where he began to collect his wallet and keys. 

“No. Going to try some good, old-fashioned clubbing.” 

“Old-fashioned?” Keith asked with a smirk. “Do you think that’s how my grandparents met?” 

If only Keith’s dates could see _this_ teasing, playful, funny Keith — they’d all straighten the hell up to be worthy of this guy. They didn’t know how lucky they were to even earn first dates with Keith... 

“Old-fashioned as in dressing nicely and going to a public place where you might meet someone compatible. Organically instead of electronically.” 

Keith sat on his couch so he could pull on his boots, although he paused first to scratch Kosmo behind the ears before he dropped his forehead to Kosmo’s furry forehead for a quiet moment. It had Lance stalling his own movements towards the door, as a silent wish worked its way into his own heart for a night in with just Keith and Kosmo. 

“Hey,” he said softly. 

Keith visibly flinched away from Kosmo before reaching for his boots. “Yeah, one sec.” 

“No, I meant, _hey_ as in what would you say to _not_ going out tonight?” 

Keith’s eyebrows rose in confusion. “Are you about to suggest an online activity instead? Is online speed dating a thing? Because I don’t think that sort of thing is for me.” 

Lance chuckled as he settled himself next to Keith on the couch. “Yes, I agree that online speed dating is not for you,” he said with a smile. “I just meant — maybe we could take a night off. Stay in?” 

“Can you do that?” Keith asked, although the immediate wistful look on Keith’s face was enough of an answer for Lance. 

“For you? Of course.” Lance was immediately rewarded with a pleased look from Keith. And, _i_ _f_ _anyone at the office asked_ , he could always say he was performing research on his charge, learning what makes Keith tick so he could better assist him. 

Keith disappeared into his bedroom and returned what felt like seconds later changed out of his date clothes and into sweatpants and a t-shirt. Lance was frankly impressed, given how long it could take Keith to change _into_ his date clothes. 

“Do you eat?” Keith asked, openly curious as he considered Lance while dropping back onto the couch and pulling up a pizza delivery app on his phone. 

Lance shook his head. “Sorta wish I did. The way some people respond to food really makes me feel like I’m missing out.” 

Keith entered his pizza order into the app by habit while raising an eyebrow to Lance. “Respond to food, like...?” 

“Like with noises they might make when they’re really enjoying _something_...” Lance trailed off.

“ _Something_?” 

Lance crossed his arms over his chest and turned away from Keith’s teasing grin. He refused to acknowledge that he was actually _blushing while transparent_ just because Keith was teasing him. 

“Orgasmic?” Keith asked, face purposefully innocent while his eyes sparkled mischievously. 

“Not that I’m ever around for that part! Just so you know.” Then Lance’s eyes narrowed as he watched Keith chuckle. “Wait, isn’t that a movie line?” 

Keith’s smile turned sincere as he asked, “Have you seen that one?” 

“Not really. I don’t get to see entire movies on the reg. If I'm ever observing a charge on a movie date, I usually have to keep my eye on them — encourage hands brushing over popcorn buckets, full-fledged hand holding, sometimes discourage other lewd activities depending on what number date they’re on and where they’re sitting in the theater.” 

Keith snorted before shaking his head at Lance. “Lewd activities?” 

Lance smirked. “I will spell it out for you if you really need me to.” 

“ _Pass_.” Keith grabbed his remote. “You’re watching an entire movie tonight. Just make sure you stay on your side of the couch, no lewd activities.” 

Lance smiled and mimicked sinking into the couch cushions. “No promises.” 

Keith bit his lip to tamper down his smile as he worked to find the movie he wanted. “How do you do it anyway? Encourage or discourage people? You said I’m the only one who can actually see you and hear you, right?” 

“It’s mostly a vibe, I guess? I'm not sure I can explain it correctly, but most of the time it feels like providing courage.” 

“Courage to make a move?” 

Lance nodded. “Or courage to say no and walk away. It’s more important to Cupids that there is a real connection. We’re not, like, trying to fill a quota on relationships on the planet.” 

“You really love your job?” 

Lance nodded, while he wondered at the origin of the shimmer of guilt on Keith’s face. “Falling in love has a million shapes and I love having a front row seat to it.” 

“I guess that could be nice,” Keith said quietly. “When it works out.” 

Lance nodded again, still considering the odd look on Keith’s face. But Keith had turned away from him and appeared to be focusing on the opening scene of the movie he’d chosen, so Lance tried to focus on it as well. 

“Is this a sport movie or a romantic movie?” he asked. 

“Both.” 

“Twofer,” Lance whispered, earning a small smile from Keith. 

It was the smile that allowed him to relax. That smile assured him that Keith was okay. And after a few more minutes, Keith certainly looked content and happy melted into his couch cushions with Kosmo asleep at his feet. Keith teasingly offered Lance a slice when his pizza arrived, and the addition of a full belly soon had Keith blinking heavily at the screen. 

Overall, it was a much more fulfilling night than watching gross and inconsiderate losers waste their shots with Keith every night. 

“What’d you think of the movie?” Keith murmured at the end, legs curled up on the couch and clearly sleepy but forcing himself to stay awake. 

“I liked it. I like how he stayed true to himself, but he still fit into her world. Seems like a good match.” 

Keith chuckled, the sound a little slower and a little lower than normal. “That sounds like a Cupid response.” 

Lance huffed out a breath at that, conceding the point to Keith. “Fine. I don’t think she should’ve been flirting with him while she had a boyfriend and I don’t think he should’ve slept with that other woman from a competing pair when it was clear he and Kate had feelings for each other by then.” His arms flailed around him, earning a sleepy smile from Keith. “What’s wrong with meeting the right person and just knowing they’re your match and just — just being with them?” 

“I guess they don’t think it would make an interesting movie.” 

“There’s enough heartache in real life,” Lance grumped. “All movies should be happy.” 

“I really appreciate being able to stay in tonight, Lance.” 

Lance let his eyes trail slowly over Keith’s face, noting his delicate features and the way his eyes were still blinking heavily. He could see the appreciation all over Keith’s face and he knew how much he meant it. “I thought you could use a break. I know I needed a break.” 

“Well, yeah,” Keith said as he nudged his sleepy face into the couch cushion. It caused some of his hair to bunch funny on that side and Lance fought the urge to fix it. “I hear you have a pretty difficult case right now.” 

Lance mimicked falling back into the couch cushions. “Oh, you have _no idea.”_

With some effort, Keith forced his eyes open to meet Lance’s. “Why’d you really want to stay in tonight? Something bothering you?” 

“I wish I felt like I was actually helping you,” Lance admitted. “Your dates have been awful, my supervisor is giving me a hard time —” 

“What happens to Cupids who lose their job?” 

Lance hadn’t given this much thought. He never thought he’d be in this position. If only he’d never been assigned to Sanda’s division. If only he wouldn’t let her get under his skin. Of course, if he hadn’t been assigned to her division, and if he hadn’t wanted to prove that he could handle the hardest case, he never would’ve met Keith. And Keith _wasn’t_ the hopeless case Sanda had presented. Keith was a sweetheart. Lance _should_ have no problem finding Keith his perfect match. 

He shrugged. “I’ve heard whispers about Cupids being demoted to the Tooth Fairy department.” 

“Oh.” Keith’s eyes were still tired, but he pursed his lips in an effort not to smile. “I mean, I bet you’d be great with kids.” 

“No, no, no, no. _First_ , you spend years reviewing dental records to keep track of eligible kids while _also_ keeping the file system organized for incoming teeth.” He was sure Keith’s grim expression to this information resembled his own. “Then, once you’re finally promoted to actual tooth fairy, the wings are small, the coins are heavy, and the teeth can be gross.” 

“You have very strong feelings about this.” Keith tried to smile through a yawn. He nuzzled his face into the cushions again. “Hey, we’ll go out tomorrow night and I'll do my best to _organically_ meet someone.” 

Lance’s face softened as he regarded Keith’s earnest face. “You’ve been doing great, Keith. It’s not you.” 

Keith’s sleepy eyes blinked back at him. “That’s nice of you to say. You’re very nice, Lance.” 

“I thought you said you had an evil Cupid,” he tried to tease. Tried to lighten the air around them. The warmth in his chest was a new and interesting sensation. 

“No,” Keith sighed and Lance swore he was moments from sleep. “You’re nice. You're the nicest guy I've ever met. I’m sorry I threw my shoes at you that first night.” 

Keith’s breaths were evening out, but he reached across the cushion and wrapped a hand around Lance’s hand.

The warmth in Lance’s chest flamed hot.

When Keith squeezed his hand, Lance turned his hand to intertwine their fingers and squeeze back. 

For the first time ever, Lance wasn’t looking forward to doing his job. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess you could say I'm still not over Admiral Sanda's betrayal, huh
> 
> Did anyone realize what movie they watched? :D
> 
> I'm so happy to hear that you guys are enjoying this story! Thank you for sharing that with me <3 <3


	4. Chapter 4

Lance used that foreign (but oh so pleasant) grip between their hands to pull Keith up off the couch and escort him to his bedroom to prevent Keith from spending the night on the couch. 

Keith turned in the doorway when he sensed Lance pause, and offered a somewhat shy, sleepy smile before he released his hold on Lance’s hand. 

“Night, Keith.” 

“Thanks for tonight,” Keith said, voice already slightly raspy from the short time he’d dozed on the couch. Then he turned again to crawl into his bed, Kosmo on his heels to sprawl on his own bed nearby. 

With the Western hemisphere mostly asleep, Lance headed back to the office to prepare to check in with the few charges he had who would be waking soon on the other side of Earth. There were at least two people in the early stages of new relationships who were going to need some encouragement to send good morning texts to their new love interests. 

He grabbed a tablet from his desk and headed down the main hallway, the breakroom with the best view his main goal. It was an odd contrast, the sterile white walls and busy bustle of the department versus the warm and quiet of his last few hours in Keith’s apartment. He hoped Keith had an easy time getting back to sleep. He bet Keith looked adorable nestled in his blankets... 

“I thought you said you were going to handle the Kogane case yourself?” 

Lance froze. He recognized Iverson’s voice, the man wasn’t a Cupid, but he handled a lot of filing and paperwork for their department. Still, he wasn’t sure what Iverson would know about Keith’s case. He peeked around the corner where Iverson was standing further down the hallway... with Sanda. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest and her expression was a sour glare up towards Iverson. 

“I was presenting the case as impossible when Cupid Lance declared he would be able to find a match for Kogane —” 

Lance really didn’t like the way she practically _snarled_ Keith’s name. 

“Cupid Lance appears to be one of the best, but he should’ve listened to you when you said it would be impossible,” Iverson stated. 

Sanda poked a finger into Iverson’s chest. “Just make sure he doesn't access the Kogane master file.” 

Lance’s confused frown matched Iverson’s. “Kogane is his charge, but he doesn’t have the master file?” 

Lance ducked back around the corner and quickly pulled Keith’s file on his tablet. He had always thought the file had been sparse, but there wasn’t anything within it that would make him think it was only partial documentation. Why wouldn’t his supervisor want him to have access to an _entire_ file in order to help someone find a match? As Keith’s prior Cupid, Sanda likely had had access to all of Keith’s documentation. What was she trying to hide? 

“We both know Cupid Lance isn't going to succeed with Kogane, with or without access to the master file,” Sanda continued. “Either way, neither of them will be my problem for much longer. And if you want to keep your job around here, I suggest you make sure Cupid Lance stays away from those records.” 

Sensing the finality of that statement, Lance took off, headed back the way he came until he reached his workstation again. He paced back and forth in front of his desk a few times, earning the attention of Allura from her nearby station. 

“Another bad date for Keith?” Allura asked. 

Lance shook his head and continued to pace. 

“Oh,” Allura’s surprise was evident in her voice. “That’s good news!” 

“No, we didn't go out. We both needed a break.” 

“A break?” Allura’s head tilted in confusion. 

Lance nodded. “I just couldn’t force him through another nightmare date tonight. We stayed on his couch. Watched a movie —” 

“An _entire_ movie?” Allura said wistfully. 

“— and talked.” 

“Ooooh,” Allura said, her tone so high pitched and amused, that Lance finally stalled his pacing to look at her. 

“What?” 

“What,” Allura mocked back with a laugh. “Being a Cupid, Lance, I would think you’d recognize a _date_.” 

“Huh?” 

“You _Netflixed and Chilled_ with Keith tonight.” 

“I don’t think you know what that term means,” Lance said half-heartedly because he was replaying the evening from a Cupid point of view in his mind. 

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Allura asked. 

Lance met her gaze and nodded honestly. 

Allura hummed thoughtfully as half her mouth quirked into a smile. “Do you think Keith enjoyed himself?” 

“Yes, because Keith would rather stay in like that than go out on another terrible date. But he didn’t view this as a date, Allura.” 

His strict tone didn’t wipe the smile from her face, but it did shift from playful to somewhat somber. “What are you going to do?” 

“Check on some of my other charges?” Lance lifted his tablet and wiggled it in the air. 

Allura sighed dramatically and shook her head. “No, Lance, what are you going to do about Keith?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“You went on a date with your charge tonight, Lance,” Allura stated plainly. “How are you going to feel setting him up with someone else?” 

Lance frowned. “I know I have to do my job, ‘Lura.” 

“You don’t think you should hand him off to another Cupid?” 

“No.” _No way in hell_. “Sanda would never go for that, plus he needs me on these terrible dates.” 

“Needs you?” 

“It wouldn’t be fair to just disappear on him,” Lance insisted, words tumbling out of his mouth with increasing speed. “I doubt another Cupid would actually reveal themselves to him, so he’d be left alone, _and_ they’d have to start all over trying to see what works—” 

“Lance?” Allura interrupted. 

He snapped his mouth shut and raised his eyebrows. 

“If it becomes difficult, you can hand him off to me. I'd take care of him.” 

The worst part in that moment is that Lance knew she would. _Lance knew he should_. Allura had more experience than Lance, treated her charges with thoughtful care, and Lance had heard a rumor that she was a Legacy Cupid, which seemed to provide her with enough influence to keep Sanda off her back. 

He knew he was being selfish, but there was no way he was handing Keith over to anyone else. 

“I’m off to check in on a few people.” Allura’s wings appeared, large and beautiful with their pink tint. Lance was grateful that she seemed content to let this matter drop for now. “I’ll see you at the staff meeting later?” 

He nodded before she disappeared, took a moment to glance out into the hallway to make sure no one was nearby, and then returned to his desk to make a phone call. 

“Hey, Pidge,” he murmured quietly when the sprite picked up on her end. “Do you think you could hack into the Cupid database and access a master file for me?” 

* * *

“When your friends have set you up on dates, have they been as disastrous as the dating app dates you’ve been on recently?” 

“Are you asking me if my friends have done a better job than a Cupid at setting me up on dates?” Keith asked, casting a sly glance to where Lance hovered in the doorway of his kitchen. He smiled to himself as he heard Lance huff an aggravated noise. 

“Dating app dates means the dating app helped pick those guys out, not your Cupid,” Lance scoffed, nose literally in the air as he said it. 

Keith continued pouring himself a glass of water before turning back to Lance. He’d gone for a run with Kosmo after work and had returned to find Lance waiting for him in his apartment. It was nice, coming back to his apartment and finding Lance here. He was sorta getting used to it. 

“I think it would be fair to say that the blind dates set up by friends also had their own fair bit of disaster. The guys my friends set me up with would always be a little... standoffish on the dates, which always shocked my friends afterwards.” 

“Okay, so no more blind dates and no more dating app dates,” Lance murmured. 

Keith watched him count these off on his fingers. He tilted his head in consideration. Transparent or not, Lance’s fingers were quite pretty. Long and slender. And they’d held onto Keith’s fingers last night with equal amounts of strength and care. 

“Keith?” 

Keith snapped his eyes up from Lance’s hands to meet his gaze. “Yes?” 

“Yes — you think it’s a good plan?” 

Keith’s eyes narrowed as he focused in on the way one corner of Lance’s mouth was twitching. “Do you think it’s a good plan?” he ventured. 

That same side of Lance’s mouth pulled into a half grin. “Well, I'm the one who suggested it.” 

Keith chewed on his lip and slid his eyes over to his kitchen sink as if it could help him. 

Lance had a full grin now. “Do you want me to repeat it or are you going to just go along with whatever I’ve said rather than admit you weren't listening?” 

“Please repeat it,” Keith grumbled. 

“What had you so distracted?” Lance asked with a laugh. 

“Your fingers,” Keith’s mouth said without any go-ahead from his brain. 

Lance blinked at him a few times before his chin dropped so he could look down at his own hands. “What’s wrong with them?” 

“N-Nothing. They're nice.” _Nice_? How many times was he going to use that adjective for Lance? Lance wasn’t _just nice_. Lance was friendly and funny and charming and always knew how to lift Keith’s spirits and — 

Keith paused that line of thought. Lance was also not human. And his job depended on Keith finding love, preferably of the human, corporeal kind. Why was this a thing he had to keep reminding himself? 

“Well, thanks,” Lance responded quietly, flipping his hands back and forth to examine his own fingers as if he’d never seen them before. Then he ran a hand through his hair (and Keith had a good idea how Lance’s messy hair was styled everyday) before glancing back at Keith with a sheepish grin. “You, uh, ready” — Lance cleared his throat — “are you ready to hear my new plan?” 

Keith nodded, equal parts grateful and disappointed to move onto a new topic. But, again, where did Keith expect that line of thought to go with someone off limits? 

“I think you should try the _organic_ option I mentioned before. Your friends and those apps may have tried to set you up with your presumed type, but I think the best judge of that is going to be you. Let’s go see who captures your attention.” 

Keith tried not to audibly groan. “I think I'd rather try the online speed dating —” 

He was cut off when Lance’s wings appeared, still just as beautiful but also still just as powerful as he flew to Keith’s side and the wind from their flapping caused him to falter on his feet. 

Keith grabbed a handful of kitchen counter and tried not to laugh as he yelled about Lance’s unfair advantage. It wasn’t long before Kosmo raced into the kitchen to see the commotion and began to bark at the ridiculousness, which had Keith releasing the counter just to try to shush his dog before the lady upstairs filed another noise complaint. 

Without the leverage of the counter, Keith was blown to the ground and quickly covered by sixty pounds of husky sitting on his chest. 

“Stop it, both of you,” he griped, pushing away Kosmo’s face and shielding his eyes from the wind of Lance’s wings. 

“What’s wrong with going out?” Lance asked. 

Keith peered around Kosmo’s head to see that Lance continued to hover above them, wings finally stilled and just as mesmerizing as they glowed, sprawled out on either side of Lance, giving his normal transparency a blue hue. 

Lance appeared honestly concerned, worry filling those bright blue eyes. “You don’t think you’ll find someone you like?” 

Keith sat up, toppling Kosmo to the side. He scratched behind a fluffy ear for forgiveness before pushing himself to his feet. “I’ll give it a try. But don't be disappointed when nothing comes of this,” he warned. 

“Why won’t anything come of this?” Lance demanded as he followed Keith out of the kitchen. 

“Because no one at bars or clubs are looking for long-term relationships. They're just trying to find a quick pick up.” 

“Well, of course they're trying to pick you up. You’re young, lithe but muscular, cute as hell. Boys be swooning, Keith.” 

Keith refused to turn back towards Lance as he beelined for his bedroom. Refused to let Lance see the blush that was surely racing up his neck and towards his face from Lance’s words. Plus, there was no way he was going to get into a discussion where he would apparently have to define a one-night stand to his Cupid _while blushing._

“We just have to weed out the bad to find your perfect match,” Lance continued. “Maybe someone who can actually make you laugh?” 

Keith finally made it to his room and shut the door in Lance’s face. How was he supposed to focus on anyone else when Lance was _nearby_. 

“I’ll just wait out here while you shower!” Lance called. “Get that shirt you were going to wear last night!” 

* * *

Keith wasn’t fidgeting, but he was likely visibly uncomfortable on the stool where he’d planted himself after refusing Lance’s idea that he _‘try out the dance floor_ ’. He had tried to warn Lance that this wasn’t a good idea, and so far, Lance had been kept super busying reminding him to relax his shoulders and try smiling while also nixing every single guy who had come to talk to him — something about their _intentions_ not matching Keith’s (and, earlier Lance had actually uttered the words, “ _Lot of lust in_ _here tonight_ ” and Keith had nearly spat half his drink onto the bar top with surprised laughter). 

He wondered how long he’d have to sit here before Lance realized this wasn’t going to work out. But, on the bright side, hopefully Lance wouldn’t suggest they try something like this again. 

“ _Lance_ ,” he finally murmured into the rim of his drink after Lance had scoffed at the last guy’s weird pick-up line, “when you come to a club by yourself, you’re just telling people you want to hook up for the night.” 

“ _Or_ ,” Lance replied from beside him, “it means you’re not hiding behind a group of friends and are open and ready for communication.” 

“Desperate,” Keith murmured. 

“ _Approachable._ ” 

Keith snorted and finally took a sip of his drink just as a man leaned onto the bar beside him. 

“Can I buy you a drink, chief?” the newcomer asked. 

“Oooh, another pet name right off the bat,” Lance observed, “but at least this guy went with something classier than the last guy. Who calls someone _sweet cheeks_ upon meeting them?” 

“Thanks, but I'm all set.” Keith tried not to smile at Lance’s words as he lifted his drink towards the new guy, who automatically clinked his bottle to Keith’s glass. 

“Cheers,” new guy toasted with an amused grin. “My name is Topher. Mind if I sit here for a minute anyway? I’m hiding from someone.” 

“Depends,” Keith countered, and since Lance wasn’t verbally objecting to this guy yet, he turned in his seat enough to actually look at him. Topher’s eyes were blue, nice, even if not Keith’s favorite shade, and he had a head full of super curly and very attractive blonde hair. He actually looked closer to what Keith might’ve expected a Cupid to look like than Lance did. “Who are you hiding from?” 

Topher’s amused grin from before remained as he took the stool next to Keith. “Well, I wish it was something cool, like, say, _the law_ , but really I'm just hiding from my sister.” 

“ _The law_ ,” Keith drawled, letting a Texas accent he did his best to hide reveal itself. Worth it for the way Topher’s eyes narrowed on his mouth when he did so. “Sounds like a guy who likes to watch Westerns.” 

Topher laughed. “Guilty.” 

“Why are you hiding from your sister?” 

“It was supposed to be just me and her out tonight, to catch up,” Topher grumbled. “But she brought this friend she’s been trying to set me up with forever.” 

“Ah,” Keith said with a nod. “I have one of those. A matchmaker sibling.” 

Topher rolled his eyes and glanced behind him into the crowd. “Is yours here? Because I'm not gonna lie, that would be hilarious if we were both hiding by the bar for the same reason.” 

Keith shook his head as he took another sip of his drink. “Thankfully, no. I’ve had my fill of bad dates lately as it is.” 

Topher groaned sympathetically. “I’ve got so many horror stories, too, dude. And this guy my sister brought out, he’s — _okay_. But he keeps going on and on about mountain climbing and kayaking and swimming with sharks and shit, and I'm like, please just go make some friends, don’t make this my problem.” 

Keith barked out a laugh and immediately felt Lance’s hand on his back, flat between his shoulder blades. 

“Keith, it’s time to go,” Lance announced. 

Keith turned his head slightly towards Lance with an eyebrow raised in question. He wasn’t bothered by this conversation with Topher, didn’t feel the pressure of trying to flirt, since it felt more like a causal conversation from someone who wasn’t trying to pick him up. 

But Lance didn’t look annoyed like he had with the other guys who had approached Keith, instead he glared at Topher, blue eyes dark and narrowed. 

“This was a mistake,” Lance stated, no hint of his usual smile. “We should go home.” 

Keith gave him a curt nod and quickly down the remainder of his drink. “Well, you can keep this hiding place if you want. I'm gonna head out.” 

“You’re due for a refill now. You sure I can’t buy you a drink, Keith?” 

“I’m good,” Keith said, standing from his stool. He offered Topher a half grin as he nodded into the crowd. “Good luck out there.” 

“You too!” Topher called after him. 

He exited the club, aware of Lance behind him through the crowd. Waited at the bus stop for a few minutes. Rode the bus the few stops to his building. Rode his elevator up to his apartment. 

And Lance was silent the entire way back. 

Keith waited until they were inside, door shut, before he turned to Lance directly to try to address tonight’s failure. 

“I’m sorry that plan didn’t work out, Lance,” he began, “those places are for... I don’t know — _quickies_. No one really wants to get to know the people they meet there.” 

“That last guy did, Keith. He was genuinely flirting with you.” 

Keith’s brow furrowed at Lance’s flat tone as well as what he was implying. “Topher? He was... happy to have someone to hide with?” 

“He was flirting, Keith!” 

Keith shrugged, eyebrows raised at the increased pitch in Lances tone. 

“But, that’s what you wanted?” — he watched Lance’s face twitch — “Why did we leave?” 

Lance appeared to visibly deflate, going so far as to lower himself so he appeared to be standing on the floor of Keith’s apartment versus hovering above it. 

“He made you laugh. Like, really laugh, Keith.” 

Keith studied Lance’s face. The struggle playing across those delicate facial features, brows furrowed in frustration, eyes narrowed in confusion, lower lip protruded in sadness. 

He took a step closer to Lance. “You said you wanted me to find a guy who could make me laugh,” he quietly reminded Lance. 

“I like it when _I’m_ the one making you laugh,” Lance whispered back, face smoothed out to a resigned pout. 

Keith took another step closer to Lance. He liked being eye level to Lance like this, enjoyed the way it let him see the initial surprise turned hope directly from Lance’s bright blue eyes at Keith’s closeness. 

“Can I try something?” 

“Of course you ca—” 

Keith leaned in to kiss him, eyes closing as he went, and hands raising to grip Lance’s shoulders so he didn’t float away. His fingertips squeezed around Lance when Lance began kissing him back, so he wasn’t sure if the groan he earned from Lance was from the kiss or the blatant physical contact. 

It really didn’t matter what caused it, he just let himself enjoy the sound. 

Sensing tentativeness from Lance, Keith moved his mouth slowly against Lance’s as he let his hands slide from those broad shoulders up to Lance’s neck, earning another small noise from Lance’s throat. He responded with his own small groan when he felt Lance’s hands land on his hips and pull him in to erase the last bit of space between them. 

Keith kept his eyes tightly shut, focused instead on how much he enjoyed feeling Lance’s body pressed against his own as their mouths continued to brush softly against each other. He let himself wrap an arm around Lance’s neck. Let his other hand slide up to ruffle Lance’s soft hair. Reveled in the feeling of Lance’s arm wrapping around his back, pulling him impossibly closer. 

“Wait, Keith, wait.” 

Keith pulled back at Lance’s breathless request and blearily opened his eyes, breaths definitely coming faster than normal, despite the softness of the kiss. He met Lance’s eyes with a question within in his own. 

“This — I don’t think this is fair to you.” Lance still sounded breathless, even though Keith wasn’t sure Lance had to breathe. 

“Why?” 

“Because, you — Keith, you deserve the world. You deserve a nice guy here in this world.” 

Keith let his fingers slide through the strands of Lance’s hair again. Maybe no one else could see Lance, but Keith could _feel_ him. Had spent enough time with him to know how he felt about him. 

“What if I think you deserve the same?” he finally asked. “A nice guy in this world? That could be me for you and you for me. I don’t want to go on more dates, Lance. I want — I love you. I’m happier when I'm with you.” 

“You love me?” 

Keith didn’t even know Lance’s eyes could get that wide and he offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile in response to Lance’s shock. “What happened to, _‘I’m Cupid and I can literally read your heart_?’” he teased. 

Lance blinked at him and then his eyes narrowed as if focusing, as if he was _reading_ Keith. 

Lance’s mouth, lips still a little swollen from kissing, spread until a beautiful smile took over his face. “You do love me,” Lance whispered in awe. 

Keith nodded. 

“Keith —” 

It's all he was able to say before the smile slipped from his face. Before his grip on Keith faltered. Before Keith felt him slip through his fingers. Before he disappeared. 

Keith’s arms fell from their raised positions and he stumbled forward a step, catching himself with a palm to the wall nearest him. 

He spun around to stare at his living room, wondering if Lance had simply shifted to another part of the room. But the room was empty. Keith glanced into his kitchen and then rushed to his bedroom doorway. Kosmo’s head popped up from his bed, but he was the only occupant in the room. 

“Lance?” Keith attempted. He’d never had to call for Lance before. Lance just appeared. Lance was just there when Keith needed him. “ _Lance_?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isas_Identitty, I read your last comment and was pretty sure you’d had a sneak peek for the outline for this chapter, lol. 
> 
> Too bad Lance was too busy being jealous to notice that Topher knew Keith’s name without Keith sharing it... Anyone else catch that?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of the downside to sharing as I write – my plan was to let Lance’s ability to touch Keith grow gradually throughout the story (which I'm not sure I accomplished anyway) and now that I’ve worked out the ending, I’d rather Lance have been able to always have the ability to touch Keith. 
> 
> As such, I’ve edited the first chapter slightly to reflect this. I have to say, though, that even with this plot line snafu, I still wouldn’t change the fact that I shared this story with you all as I wrote it because without your comments, thoughts, and support, this story wouldn’t be what it is. It just honestly wouldn’t. Thank you for your help in creating this story <3 <3

“Wait, wait, wait.” The hands that Lance had had wrapped around Keith’s waist landed on his own stomach. He was disoriented, despite being a pro at travel between the human world and his own, and yet, he still squinted at his new surroundings. He turned to face Sanda within her private office, “How did I get here?” 

“Apparently _, Kogane_ fell in love,” Sanda sneered, pressing fingertips into her desktop and slowly pushing herself to a standing position. “But, dontcha think getting him to fall in love _with you_ is cheating?” 

“I need to get back to Keith.” 

“You are no longer Keith’s Cupid,” Sanda stated. “Section 8, part D of the Cupid guidebook, _Loverboy_ , do you remember what it says?” 

Lance grimaced as he thought of Keith now — of how he had literally disappeared in front of Keith’s eyes with absolutely no explanation right after Keith had confessed to loving Lance. Of Keith’s heart possibly breaking because he thought Lance didn’t reciprocate those feelings. 

“You have to send me back.” 

Sanda sighed in irritation. “Part D states that a charge is not to develop romantic feelings for their Cupid,” she said with a meaningful look at him. “If they do so, the Cupid will be reassigned.” 

Lance swallowed hard as what Sanda was saying slammed into him. _Keith had fallen in love. With him._ But as a result, he had been stripped of his Cupid connection to Keith. 

“Please, you have to send me back to him. I have to explain.” 

“Think of how terrible it would be if all our Cupids ran off to be in love with a human,” Sanda replied as a response. She picked up a new tablet from her desk and exited her office, Lance quickly followed. “Giving up this life for a mortal life? Leaving more work for the rest of us. Can you think of anything more selfish?” 

Lance planted himself in front of her in the hallway to stop her. “I need to talk to him,” he pleaded. 

“He is no longer your problem, just like you are no longer mine.” She pressed the tablet into Lance’s chest. “You are being promoted to a new division, unless you’d like to remain under my supervision?” 

The raised eyebrow and tone of voice were both a challenge. Lance slowly took the tablet from her hands and stepped to the side. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get back to Keith, but he knew it wouldn’t be through Sanda. 

“Thank you,” he said icily. 

“Good choice,” she stated before continuing down the hallway. 

* * *

Keith rubbed his thumb back and forth over his fist as he did his best to focus on the projections for his current work project. He’d had a hard time sleeping the past few nights, his bed somehow felt cold and empty, despite the fact that he’d never even shared it with Lance. 

He grimaced as Lance entered his mind again. The fact that he was struggling to focus at work had not gone unnoticed by his supervisor, and if he was going to let himself jump down the rabbit hole of thoughts regarding whether Lance had disappeared because Keith had scared him off versus Lance had disappeared because he was somehow in trouble, he may as well just quit work for the day and head home. 

He returned his gaze to his computer screen. 

He really hoped he hadn't scared Lance off. The chances were probably slim — what Cupid would be scared off by the L word? They probably gave seminars on the correct way to handle impromptu declarations of love and he was willing to bet that disappearing into thin air wasn’t on the list of acceptable options. 

A chill ran down his spine that had him spinning his desk chair around to survey the other side of his office. It was empty, but... 

He spun back slowly so he could stare at his screen again. He really _didn’t_ think he’d scared Lance away, but it was almost preferable to believe that over worrying that Lance might be in trouble. What if Lance had been torn away from him against Lance’s own will? What if Lance had lost his job, been demoted to the tooth fairy department? What if Lance was hurting as much as Keith was hurting because they were apart and had no way to even contact each other? 

He spun around in his chair again. “Look, I know you’re in here, okay? I can sense you, or whatever. Just — why not just show yourself?” 

When nothing happened on the other side of his office, he sighed in exasperation, spun his chair around long enough to turn off his computer, and then grabbed his jacket on his way out the door. 

* * *

Lance was keeping up appearances, checking on his charges and making small talk with the new Cupids he’s met in his new division. But he’s also been researching the ancient Cupid files, searching for a way to find or just contact a human a Cupid is not connected to, doing his best to stave off the worry about what Keith is feeling. He kept missing Allura, and as such, had no idea who Keith's new Cupid was. 

His ringing phone startled him out of an incredibly boring ancient article on mid-19th century courting rituals and he answered without checking the caller ID. 

“Hey,” Pidge’s voice said, “congrats on the promotion, although it took me a few tries to find your new number.” 

“Oh, yeah, sorry, Pidgie,” he murmured, glancing over to see that his new office mate was on their own phone. “Were you able to access that file?” 

“Yeah, uh, Lance? Who is this guy?” 

“One of my charges,” Lance said slowly, wary of Pidge’s unusual somber tone. “Why?” 

“Well, I guess I mean, what did he _do_?” 

“Pidge, please spit it out, what’s up?” 

“He has a black heart on his file, Lance,” Pidge finally said. “Isn’t that, like, the worst sort of mark someone can have in your line of work?” 

“That...” Lance sat back in his seat as his stomach dropped. “That doesn’t even make sense. He’s — he’s a sweetheart, Pidge. A nice guy.” 

“No one looking at this would think that,” Pidge muttered. “And, Lance?” 

Lance knew that her new tentative tone could only be further bad news and he found himself holding his breath, trapping the dread in his chest before it could travel up his throat. 

“I thought I'd dig a little deeper and I ended up opening the file of his last relationship, with that guy, Thomas? Just to see how Cupid Sanda managed that pairing considering the black heart? And, I mean, I'm no Cupid, but Thomas and Keith’s compatibility chart has almost zero matches. No offense to Keith, but I don’t even see why Thomas would go for him, either.” 

The dread from before thumped away in Lance’s chest. “She forced it,” he whispered. “She _forced it_ to get his chart out of her pile.” 

“That would be my guess,” Pidge said. “What are you going to do with him now? That black heart...” 

“Yeah, I know. Can you send me that file? I'm going to find Allura.” 

* * *

“Keith!” 

Keith’s hand stalled midair at the call, before he could unlock his apartment door. He turned to Hunk and tried to offer a smile. 

“You’re just in time! Come have dinner.” 

His initial reaction was to decline. He wasn’t in a great mood, and his gregarious neighbors didn’t deserve that sort of company tonight. But, when he finally got the key in the door and realized that not only was he still feeling creeped out from earlier, but also dinner with Hunk and Shay would be better than his empty (sorry, Kosmo) quiet apartment — 

“Yeah, thanks. Let me just get Kosmo out? I’ll be over in a few minutes.” 

Hunk beamed at him (and Keith felt guilty for the past few times he’d declined dinner with Hunk and Shay — he had no idea they enjoyed his company as much as he enjoyed theirs). 

Kosmo danced and snuffed all over him as he walked in the door and he reciprocated with ear scratches and a hug around Kosmo’s fuzzy neck. He quickly pulled off his tie and at least shed his work trousers for jeans before grabbing Kosmo’s leash and heading down the elevator with him. 

A few minutes later he was being ushered into Hunk and Shay’s bright and delicious-smelling apartment. Hunk had a warm hand on his back as he ushered him in, smile as wide as ever, and a look of pride in his eyes that was confusing Keith. 

“You agreed to come have dinner before I could even offer the bribe we have to get you over here, but we have a bribe to get you over here,” Hunk said with a laugh. 

“Oh, you didn’t need to —” 

“Keith, this is Topher,” Shay announced, entering the room with the curly-haired blonde Keith had met at the club a few nights before. She raised her hands towards the young man and grinned at Keith. “Hunk said you’ve been missing dinners because —” 

“Uh, because you’ve been, you know, out meeting new people,” Hunk interjected, hand swiping across his throat in the stop motion while sending a meaningful look to his wife.

“Yes!” Shay’s eyes widened for a moment before she offered Keith an apologetic smile. “So, may we offer dinner and a new friend?” 

Keith took an automatic step backwards towards the door and watched as Topher’s eyes narrowed and tracked the movement before he appeared to clear his expression and offer Keith a small wave. Keith didn’t know why his gut felt uneasy at the reappearance of this stranger, but he was definitely regretting coming over now. 

“Nice to see you again, Keith,” Topher offered. 

Hunk stepped in closer to Keith and attempted to talk quietly, even if everyone in the room could still hear him. “Wait, you know each other? He wasn’t one of the terrible dates, was he?” 

It was Topher who laughed and responded, “Nope, wasn’t that lucky.” 

Keith’s eyes shot to Topher and he read the uneasiness on him — the way Topher shifted on his feet and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck — before he turned back to Hunk. “How do you guys know Topher?” 

An innocent question except for Keith’s unusually stern tone, which Hunk alerted to immediately, if the way his brows furrowed was any indication. 

“Uh,” Hunk looked to Shay, “where did you meet Topher?” 

Shay’s eyes slid to the floor as her lips pursed in a straight line. “Um,” she looked to Topher who just grinned at her before turning back to Hunk. “I thought you knew Topher?” 

Keith took another step backwards toward the door as the cold chill from earlier crept down his spine again. Half of him wanted to escape, while the other half debated how to escape Hunk and Shay’s apartment with Hunk and Shay in tow. 

The next moment felt surreal, like a scene from a movie when the video is slowed to such a degree that the audience can see every detail of something moving supernaturally fast. Hunk and Shay were frozen in the room, expressions stuck in _confusion_ and one of Hunk’s arms even lifted midair. 

Topher, however, wasn’t frozen and when Keith realized Topher’s alarmed expression was directed across the room, his own gaze followed. Large black wings were settling as a new Cupid made herself visible. 

“Who are you?” Keith asked quickly. “Do you know where Lance is?” 

The Cupid flinched at Lance’s name but didn’t respond otherwise. Instead, she lifted a bow and pointed it in Keith’s direction as she slid an arrow into place. Now it was Keith’s turn to flinch as he realized the new Cupid’s intention was to hit him with that arrow ( _a method Lance had said had been banned!_ ) and what? Make him fall for Topher? 

“No!” Topher yelled, taking a step forward even as Hunk and Shay remained frozen in place. “Don’t!” 

Keith didn’t even have time to wonder at how Topher could move or see the Cupid — when his friends couldn’t — before his eyes caught on the Cupid’s arm pulling the arrow back. 

“Sanda, don’t!” Topher yelled again, moving towards her at a speed that Keith instinctually knew wouldn’t be fast enough to stop her from releasing that arrow. 

Keith raised his arms just as another set of wings filled his vision — these almost a pure white with a blue tint. Lance pulled Keith into his chest, arms wrapped tight around him as his wings wrapped tightly around them both. 

“Cupid Lance!” Sanda yelled. 

“ _Lance_ ,” Keith breathed, hands maneuvering through the tight hold so he could slide them up Lance’s back to wrap palms around his shoulders. “I was worried about you.” 

“Are you okay?” Lance asked in return, ducking his head so he could meet Keith’s eyes. “Am I too late? Did she get you with an arrow again?” 

Keith’s brows furrowed. “Again?” 

Lance nodded, lips pursed. 

“Do not loose that arrow, Sanda,” a new deep voice commanded. 

Lance’s head popped up to watch the action that Keith couldn’t see through the feathers. When Lance deemed the room safe, the wings slowly uncurled from around the two of them, although one of Lance’s arms remained wrapped around Keith‘s waist, revealing not only that Sanda had lowered her bow and arrow, but also new occupants in the room — two more new Cupids, wings out, although at rest — an older man and a young woman with matching heads of white hair. 

“Ah, Keith, I presume,” the man said as he appeared to stride across the room (despite the floating) and offered a hand to Keith. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. My name is Alfor, and this is my daughter, Allura.” 

Keith looked to Lance for a moment before tentatively removing a hand from Lance’s back and extending it for a firm handshake with Alfor. 

“You can touch him as well?” Lance breathed as he watched. 

Alfor nodded, smile bright. “Do you know why that is?” 

Lance shook his head. He supposed that it was silly to think that the physical touching between him and Keith had only happened because he was special. 

_But, dammit, he thought he and Keith could touch because he was special._

“Well,” Alfor dropped a hand heavy on Lance’s shoulder, causing him to stumble a bit. Keith tightened his own hold on Lance. “Who _can_ you touch, Lance?” 

Lance tilted his head as he eyed Alfor’s mischievous grin and listened to Allura giggle behind her hand. His gaze roamed to Alfor’s hand on his own shoulder. 

“Other Cupids?” Lance replied slowly. "But, Keith is not a Cupid.” 

Alfor’s grin only grew wider. “No, he’s not. _However_ , Keith, your mother’s father” — Alfor’s smile grew quite fond — “he was a very good friend of mine. Work buddy, you know? But he decided to leave the Cupid department when he met your grandmother. You’ve got a little Cupid in your blood, making it a bit easier for you to interact with us.” 

“Get away from me,” Sanda growled, drawing their attention to where Topher was approaching her. 

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” Topher warned, pulling cuffs from his back pocket. 

“Who is she?” Keith asked quietly. 

“Your former Cupid,” Lance huffed. “She put a black heart on your file to make your case look extremely difficult, shot you with an arrow — which is against the law — and then left you to think you were in love with that selfish, mooching jerkface while she got a cushy promotion for solving such a tough case.” 

Keith’s brow furrowed. That was... a lot to take in at once, even if it did clear up a few things from the past several years. “What’s a black heart?” he asked first. 

“A black heart would essentially change your aura to other Cupids,” Allura explained patiently as she floated closer to them. “I had a theory that Sanda had done this to a few people, so my father assigned me to her department to do a private investigation. I was supposed to be assigned _your_ case,” she shot a look at Lance, “so that I could see what was going on, but Lance took it so fast during our meeting —” 

Keith glanced back to meet Lance’s gaze and Lance’s hold around him tightened even as he shrugged one shoulder. “Thought I could help you,” Lance whispered. 

“Anyway,” Allura continued, “Cupids assigned to the good and decent guys you would be interested in would not let them anywhere near you with that black heart on your file —” 

“But Cupids to douchebags would still guide them to you, because you’d still look like a catch compared to their guys,” Lance interjected, “as we saw on your disaster dates.” 

“When I heard what a hard time you were having, and with Lance’s job on the line, I called in Topher as a nice guy distraction,” Allura stated. 

Keith glanced back to Topher, who had finally gotten the cuffs around Sanda’s wrists. 

“I’m from Internal Affairs,” Topher offered with a grin. 

“You’re not... see through,” Keith said dumbly. 

“No, Topher is a Cupid descendant much like you. And while not a full Cupid, he has enough of The Sense to be helpful when needed,” Alfor explained. 

Keith felt Lance’s hold tighten once more before Lance added his own question, “How many Cupids have...” 

“Crossed over?” Alfor offered when Lance seemed at a loss for the correct words. “I know it's not something typically discussed in our conferences, but it happens from time to time. Not a surprise really, Cupids _love_ love, so it makes sense that they sometimes fall in love themselves.” His eyes raked over Lance and the way he was currently wrapped around Keith with a keen gaze. 

Sensing that they were about to leave with Sanda, Keith turned to her to ask her, “Why?” 

Sanda only glared back at him before staring angrily at the floor. 

“Your grandfather and Sanda were partners back in the early days of her career,” Alfor offered into the silence. “We think she resented the fact that he left her behind to handle all their cases alone.” 

“She was randomly assigned your case, Keith,” Allura added with a gentle tone. “And I think once she realized who you were, well, she —” 

“Took her revenge on someone who hadn’t done anything to her,” Lance practically growled in her direction, Keith could feel the vibrations where Lance's chest was pressed into Keith’s side. 

“You won’t have to worry about her in the future, Keith,” Alfor assured. “We’ve removed the black heart from your file and reassigned Lance as your Cupid.” 

“If that matters,” Allura murmured with a sly grin to Lance. She walked over to collect Sanda from Topher’s grasp. “Good luck out there, Keith.” 

“Take care of yourself,” Alfor added. “It really has been an honor to meet Kolivan’s grandson.” He shook Keith’s hand one more time before he, Allura, and Sanda disappeared from the room in a sweeping act that sent Hunk and Shay back into motion. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Jazz Hands* Shuffles the Cupids...


	6. The After in Happily Ever After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This final chapter is much longer than any of the others in this story (almost 11,000 words by itself!) which I’ll admit surprised me. I had a general plan to write “The After” in Happily Ever After for this chapter, and as I wrote — The After just kept going and going and going. I hope you enjoy it!

“ _Lance_?” 

“Hunky Monkey!” Lance exclaimed in return. “Keith, I didn’t know you knew Hunk!” 

While at the same moment Hunk excitedly said to Keith, “The matchmaker you couldn’t stop grinning about was Lance?” 

Keith felt his ears turn red as Lance began to coo at him. “Why can you see him?” he managed to ask Hunk. 

Shay joined Hunk and while she peered curiously up at Lance, she also extended a hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Lance. Hunk told me a lot about his _friend_ who helped him work up the courage to talk to me.” 

Lance tilted his head at Shay’s hand before attempting to shake it. His hand slid through hers for a second before he pulled back and just moved his hand up and down beside hers in pseudo-shake. Shay giggled and mimicked him. 

“I _usually_ don’t need to show myself to my charges, only the very special cases,” Lance nudged his nose into Keith’s temple. “And poor Hunk here was so shy I appeared in front of him to give him a boost.” 

“Yeah, scared the crap outta me the first couple times,” Hunk laughed. “Then he’d dance or make silly faces behind Shay so I’d be laughing by the time I walked up to her. I'm lucky she didn’t automatically think I was crazy.” 

“I loved your laugh right away,” Shay replied with a smile. 

“I’m going to get going,” Topher announced. 

“Oh!” Hunk eyed the way Keith and Lance were still wrapped around each other before glancing back at Topher. “You really don’t have to, man, you’re more than welcome to stay and eat. I have a feeling you have a cool story to tell us.” 

“Well,” Topher considered Hunk’s earnest tone, “it does smell good.” 

Lance sniffed the air a few times before sending a questioning look to Keith. Keith nodded. “It does smell good,” he confirmed. 

“You should stay,” Lance added to Topher. “I’d really like to thank you for helping to keep Keith safe.” 

“You don’t have to do that,” Topher said with an honest smile. “I like it when these things have happy endings.” 

“Good, then let’s eat,” Shay said as she started for the kitchen, stopping only to turn to Lance. “Lance, do you...?” 

“I don’t even need a chair at the table!” Lance responded. 

Lance’s tone was chipper, although he immediately turned to Keith after with an expression Keith couldn’t read. Keith would ask him about it later. 

_Later_. There would be a later because Lance was _here_ and Keith didn’t have to worry about him anymore. Everyone else headed for food, but Keith wrapped both arms around Lance and buried his face in Lance’s neck. He felt Lance’s arm loop around his waist and Keith let himself just exhale. 

“I was worried I'd done something wrong, got you in trouble,” he finally murmured a moment later. 

Lance began shaking his head before Keith was even finished. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Keith.” 

“Where did you go?” Keith whispered. 

“Some dumb ancient rule, if a charge falls in love with their Cupid, then they reassign the Cupid. I lost my tie to you. I couldn’t get back to you.” Lance tightened his hold around Keith’s waist, face buried in Keith’s hair. 

“But... They made you my Cupid again?” 

“I demanded it, so we could get to you in time.” 

Keith began to pull back, trying to decide if he should laugh at the absurdity of Lance still being in charge of getting him dates. “You know I haven't fallen out of lo—” his words were cut off in a gasp as his eyes traveled across the brown skin covering Lance’s face, down the line of his body which led to feet actually planted on the floor, and then back up to the bright blue eyes he knew and loved. Practically eye-level blue eyes as they were almost the same height (Lance might be slightly taller). “Lance,” he whispered. 

Lance lifted a hand from Keith’s waist and stole one of Keith’s hands so he could intertwine their fingers and stare down at them. “They look nice together.” 

“Lance,” Keith whispered again as he used his free hand to run a thumb across Lance’s cheek. “You’re beautiful.” 

“Hey,” Lance said with a wet laugh, “don’t sound so surprised! I've always looked like this.” 

“No, no wait,” Keith slid his hand around Lance’s back — he wasn’t sure what he was expecting to feel but he certainly didn’t feel wings. “Lance, wait, your _wings_?” 

“I’d look pretty silly, walking around as a human with wings.” Lance stated calmly. 

“Human?” Keith said in awe. 

Lance pulled Keith in close again and let his forehead rest on Keith’s forehead. “I fell in love with you too, you know.” 

Keith let his smile spread wide across his face, even as he blinked away the strange wetness in his eyes. “Yeah?” 

Lance got half a nod in before Keith pressed forward and kissed him. Not their first kiss, but Keith immediately noticed something faintly citrusy as he realized he’d never associated a scent with Lance before. He breathed in slowly through his nose to let himself enjoy it before sighing softly on the exhale. His lips pulled at Lance’s, and while Lance was still slightly tentative, his mouth was soon pushing back and he was relaxing in Keith’s hold. 

Keith ended the kiss just as abruptly a moment later, though, pulling back just so he could frown at Lance as his thoughts caught up to him, “But that means you have to give up... everything?” 

Lance’s flushed cheeks were not lost on Keith as Lance slowly opened his eyes to blink at him. “Well, I'm not giving you up,” he said plainly. 

Keith huffed out a laugh and let his forehead fall to Lance’s shoulder, and felt the softness of Lance’s shirt against his skin. “I’m going to have to get used to you saying things like that, huh?” 

“What things?” 

“That was —” Keith opted instead for just kissing Lance again, instead of trying to explain how romantic that had been. 

“Hey, guys — oh!” 

They pulled apart to stare at Hunk standing in the doorway that connected the main room the kitchen. 

“Hunk, we’re probably going to miss dinner this time,” Keith admitted. 

They watched Hunk’s eyes widen and then begin to water as he stared at a corporeal Lance. He rushed across the room and picked Lance and Keith up at once in a huge bear hug. 

“I’m so happy for you guys!” He set them back on the ground gently, even if he slapped Lance’s back a few times and then shook his shoulder, which Lance grumbled about although he was still smiling. “Okay, wait — wait.” 

They watched Hunk dash out of the room and return only moments later with plasticware full of food. 

“I get you want to be alone but I don’t want you to starve. And Keith, I love you, man, but you can’t cook. Take these.” 

Keith happily accepted the food as he let Lance pull him out the door. 

“Raincheck on dinner at your place!” Lance called out. 

* * *

“Kosmo, I'm so happy you’re the first dog I get to pet!” Lance declared from under the giant husky on the floor. 

“Sorry, Lance,” Keith apologized as he pulled Kosmo away from where he’d pounced on Lance the moment the two of them had entered the apartment. 

Lance pushed himself back to his feet and glanced around the apartment as Keith said his own hello to Kosmo. “I’ve missed your place. I know it was only a couple days, but your place was always so warm, like, homey, compared to the Cupid offices.” 

Keith watched Lance look around, almost as if he was seeing aspects of the living room for the first time. He went to the kitchen and grabbed forks and glasses of water for them both before he met Lance on the couch to dig into Hunk’s containers. 

They didn’t turn on the television, just sat cross-legged facing each other. Keith couldn’t help his grin as Lance took his first bite of food and immediately shut his eyes and moaned around the bite in happiness. 

“I don’t know what this is, but this is my new favorite food,” Lance said to his next bite. 

Keith chuckled. “I have a feeling you’ll be saying that about most food.” 

Lance’s eyes widened. “You’re right. I'm about to eat so much food I've only seen you humans eat before now.” 

“Sorta makes me wish I could actually cook so I could treat you to some of it myself.” 

“Maybe I'll learn how to cook,” Lance said thoughtfully. “Maybe Hunk could teach me.” 

“I bet he’d like that.” 

“It’s so cool that he’s your neighbor.” 

“Our.” 

“Huh?” 

“Well, I'd like it if... Well, you have to know I want you to stay. Here. Live here. You’ll stay here, right? Hunk will be _our_ neighbor.” 

Lance swallowed his current bite and glanced around the apartment again. Keith felt his chest tighten at Lance’s look of hesitation. He thought back to Topher’s words about happy endings. What if this wasn’t a happy ending for him? What if Lance _left_? 

“I definitely want to be with you, Keith. But, um—” 

“But?” 

“Well, I don’t have anywhere else to go, obviously, being new to this world, but I don’t want you to take me in just for that reason. I don’t want you to be fully responsible for me. I’d be a mooch.” 

“Lance,” Keith said with a huff, thinking of the way Lance as his Cupid had always described Thomas. It sunk into him at that moment why he and Thomas had never worked, the reveal that he’d been previously shot with a Cupid’s arrow. The thought that he’d been forced to think that he was in love with Thomas didn’t sit well with him, and the hurt and anger he’d directed towards thoughts of his relationship with Thomas suddenly transferred to the image of Sanda releasing an arrow at him. 

He met Lance’s eyes again, read the unsure reluctance there. He’d have time to think about Cupid arrows later. For now, he wanted to take care of Lance. Assure Lance that he was _welcome_ and _needed_ here. 

Keith landed a hand on one of Lance’s knees and squeezed. “I met you while you were working” — that earned a small laugh from Lance — “You’re not a mooch.” 

“Except I'm jobless _now_.” 

“Thank goodness,” Keith uttered with as much drama as he could muster. “No more sending me out on terrible dates.” 

That earned him another small laugh. It wasn’t enough, Lance still looked troubled. 

“You just took a huge leap to be with me,” Keith said. “You staying here with me is literally the least I can do in return for you, Lance. I either pay for this place and be here alone or I pay for this place and have you with me. Which should I choose?” he deadpanned. 

Lance let his fingers trace over the hand Keith still had on his knee. “I’d love to stay here with you,” he finally said. “But I'm not gonna mooch forever.” 

Keith closed the space between them, careful of the food containers they still held, just so he could press a quick kiss to Lance’s mouth, happy and a bit relieved when he felt Lance meet him and kiss back. 

“You have a lot of new experiences coming,” Keith told him. “I don’t want you to stress about anything right now.” 

Lance returned to his dinner and Keith sighed softly and went back to his own. Lance’s eyes were on his food, although he looked like he was still considering something. 

“I did make you go on a bunch of terrible dates, huh?” Lance finally asked. 

“Well, it wasn’t your fault they were terrible.” 

“Still, I feel like you’re owed a reimbursement.” 

Keith watched the teasing smirk grow on Lance’s face and felt his own mouth pull up in a grin. 

“Well, if you think you’re up to the task,” he challenged. 

“You’re on, Kogane.” 

Lance seemed to calm after that. He helped Keith wash the containers when they were finished eating, and then accompanied Keith outside to take Kosmo for a walk. 

Keith had thought he’d enjoyed the time he’d hung out with Lance prior to this, but having Lance with him like this — actually sitting on his couch, splashing Keith a bit while they did dishes, actually riding the elevator, hand held within his own and Lance at his side as they walked down the sidewalk with Kosmo — this was surely what true happiness felt like. True contentment. 

Keith had offered Lance pajamas (really free rein to his clothes) and a spare toothbrush before adding — “We’ll go shopping for you tomorrow.” before he met Lance in bed that night. 

In _their_ bed. 

They lay apart from each other, Keith kept sending side glances to Lance, only to find Lance’s eyes continuously roving across the room. 

“Have you ever, um, slept before?” Keith finally asked. 

Lance shook his head. “Never felt the need. I’ve never really seen humans sleep, either, to be honest, well except for you that time on the couch. Usually when, uh, the people in the new relationship would head to bed for the first time, it wouldn’t be for sleep, ya know? It was usually my cue that they were all set and I could leave, actually.” 

Keith lifted himself on an elbow so he could better meet Lance’s eyes. “Can I ask you something?” 

Lance nodded and Keith warmed when he saw Lance’s face soften as those blue eyes met his gaze. 

“When I kissed you, right before you disappeared, was that your first kiss?” 

Lance was silent at first, but pink rose to his face, enough that Keith actually ran a thumb across Lance’s cheek just to feel the heat. 

“Who knew blushing had a feeling to go with it,” Lance muttered as he flipped to his stomach and buried his face in his pillow. 

It was really cute. Keith grinned even as he offered a few sympathetic pats to Lance’s shoulder. 

“Yes, it was,” Lance finally responded, turning his head out of the pillow so that Keith could at least see half his face. 

Keith nodded in understanding and offered what he hoped was an encouraging smile. He was rewarded with Lance leaving the pillow entirely to mimic Keith and lift himself to an elbow to face him. 

“I’ve never had anyone I've wanted to kiss before you, Keith,” Lance offered. 

Now it was Keith’s turn to blush, although he didn’t dive to hide when Lance’s grin grew in delight. He only leaned into the palm that Lance pressed to his warm cheek. 

“Well...” Keith began, “I know this is our first time going to bed together, but I don’t want to rush anything with you. I just want you to know that.” 

Lance kept his hand where it was pressed to Keith’s face as he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Keith’s, in what Keith realized was the first time Lance had initiated a kiss between them. His lips were still a bit tentative, but still as perfect as any of their other kisses. 

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Lance whispered when he pulled away. 

“C’mere.” Keith fell to his back and tugged Lance close so he could rest his head on Keith’s chest before he had a chance to get a good look at whatever Keith’s face was doing in reaction to his first pet name. “First, you need to learn how to sleep.” 

Lance allowed himself to be pulled close, although Keith could feel how uncertain he was with how stiff he felt against him. But Lance melted into Keith as soon as Keith began to slide his fingers through his soft hair. Keith let his other hand begin a slow back and forth draw where it was wrapped around Lance’s back. 

“Nice,” Lance whispered mere moments before he fell asleep. 

* * *

“Sleeping with someone is the best experience I've ever had! What a great way to spend a night! Do you sleep with someone?” Lance asked the elderly lady on his other side on the elevator. “Because you should!” 

Mrs. Shermer leaned around Lance to meet Keith’s gaze as Lance continued to talk. Keith stared back at her blankly (she liked to file noise complaints whenever Kosmo barked — pets were allowed in the building, some were going to make noise, okay?) and he definitely wasn’t interested in her judgmental eyebrow raise. He turned away from her, which meant he looked directly at Birdie Stevens, the college student from the floor below him, whose response was to appraise Lance before offering Keith two thumbs up. 

When they reached the building’s lobby, Lance was in the middle of listing out the many positives of sleeping specifically with Keith to Mrs. Shermer, which included ‘warmth and good rubs’ when Mrs. Shermer huffed and quickly exited the elevator. Birdie smirked as she followed. Keith hit the button for the garage again as Lance languidly leaned himself against the back of the elevator cart. 

He waited until the doors were shut all the way before he asked Lance around the laughter he couldn’t help, “Please tell me you were doing that on purpose.” 

“Doing what on purpose?” The innocent tone was in direct contrast to Lance’s sly grin. 

Keith boxed Lance in where he stood with hands on the wall behind him before pressing himself up to kiss Lance, although the kiss was difficult to maintain with the way the Lance was smiling. 

The elevator beeped before the door opened again and Keith stepped away, but with Lance’s hand within his own to lead Lance to his car. He’d called in a personal day at work, and while there were many fun things he wanted to do with Lance, clothes shopping moved to the top of the list when all of Keith’s pants had been irritatingly short on Lance that morning (and he kept complaining about how tight Keith’s pants were “But only on me, babe,” Lance had said with an appraising look in Keith’s direction. “Don’t think that I'm complaining about how tight they are on you.”) 

Keith regretfully pulled into the mall and parked as Lance declared that driving fast was cool and he wanted Keith to teach him how to drive, please. 

“I wasn’t driving that fast.” 

“Faster than all the other cars.” 

“I will teach you how to drive but I don’t want you going that fast.” 

They made it two steps towards the mall before Lance stopped with his hand on his stomach. “Babe, what’s happening with my stomach?” 

Keith frowned and got closer, he hadn’t exactly received a post-Cupid guidebook and real worry was beginning to take hold before he heard Lance’s stomach growl. 

“Oh, you’re... hungry,” Keith said faintly. “I guess your body needs more than —” 

“Babe, that breakfast toast was magical. Don’t start discounting your toast making skills.” 

“Come on,” Keith intertwined their fingers and pulled Lance towards the mall. “There’ll be some food places open inside. I might be shooting myself in the foot, though, because once you have a Cinnabon, you’ll never eat my toast again.” 

(He was right.) 

* * *

Keith checked his shirt again to make sure he’d hit all the buttons before he headed to the kitchen to feed Kosmo. Lance had fed Kosmo his breakfast that morning and claimed he wanted to take over feeding him for a bit so they could bond quicker, but Lance wasn’t here right now. 

Lance had taken the clothes he’d chosen for tonight over to Hunk and Shay’s place earlier. Lance wanted to pick Keith up for this date. 

Keith still wasn’t sure whether he thought this was sweet or silly. 

There was a knock on his door and Keith bit back a smile. Lance had a key now, but apparently he was really going all out. 

He opened the door and found Lance with an arm extended, a bouquet of flowers offered up to Keith. The reds and blues and purples of the flowers caught his eye first, he’d never been gifted flowers before and he gratefully took them before letting his eyes travel over his date. Lance’s hair had been somewhat tamed and styled away from his face, giving Keith an even easier view of those pretty blue eyes. 

“Good evening, Mr. Kogane, would you please accompany me for a feast that will include joy and merriment?” 

Keith frowned at him, unsure how Lance had managed to say that without a hint of laughter. 

“No thanks.” He began to swing the door shut. 

“Keith!” Lance squawked, slamming his hand on the door to keep Keith from shutting it. “You don’t like my proper invitation?” 

Keith offered a half shrug. 

Lance’s eyes narrowed for a split second before he appeared to have an idea. He dropped his elbow to the door and then leaned his weight into it before glancing at Keith through his lashes. 

“Hey, sweetcheeks, how ‘bout you and me hit the town for the night?” Eyebrows wiggled. There were finger guns. 

Keith threw his head back and laughed before saying, “Gross, no, go away.” He tried to push the door shut, made difficult by the way he was still laughing while Lance continued to push his weight into the door. 

Lance shot himself off the door with quick movements that immediately slowed when he reached Keith, hands landing softly on either side of Keith’s neck and forehead dropping to meet Keith’s. 

“Hey man,” Lance whispered, and Keith felt his entire body still at those quiet words, “want to go out and have dinner with me?” 

Keith relaxed with each word spoken. He nodded and kissed the tip of Lance’s nose. “Let me put these flowers in water first.” 

Several feet away, the eavesdropping Hunk and Shay grinned at each other as they quietly closed their apartment door. 

“You look really nice,” Keith murmured when they finally head to the elevator. 

“Thanks. So do you, handsome.” 

* * *

“What is that smell? I like it.” 

“Really?” Keith asked, inhaling with purpose. “I mean, it’s pretty much fish smell, some Old Bay seasoning.” 

They were seated in a rickety wooden table near the front window of Keith’s favorite little shrimp shack. He’d ordered for the two of them at the counter and then joined Lance while they waited for their food. The tiny restaurant also had large display cases with multiples type of raw fish for people to pick up to take home. He'd always sorta wished he knew what to do with any of it or wondered what Hunk would think if he just showed up at his place one day with all the raw fixings for a clam bake. 

Lance shrugged a bit. “I like it.” 

Their meals arrived on large plates, shrimp with cocktail sauce, corn on the cob, french fries. They hadn’t found a food Lance didn’t enjoy yet, but Keith knew Lance knew this was one of his favorite meals, so he offered up a “It’s okay if you don’t like it” before they began eating. 

“I hope I don’t have any food allergies,” Lance joked, alluding to the last time Keith had tried to eat here with a date. 

Keith’s brows furrowed as he thought of five-star lobster guy, though Lance soon had his attention again as he moaned around a bite of shrimp dipped in cocktail sauce. 

Keith cleared his throat and glanced around the restaurant — there was only one other couple at another table across the room and the two employees had moved to the back to work — before he glared across the table. “I thought we had a discussion earlier” (when Lance had his first Cinnabon) “about the effect certain sounds may have on those around you? Me specifically.” 

Lance’s responding grin wasn’t sheepish or embarrassed. No, it was smug. It was also followed by Lance running his tongue across his bottom lip. 

Keith’s eyes narrowed as Lance popped another shrimp in his mouth, closed his eyes, and then _moaned around it._ Keith couldn’t help mimicking a swallow as he watched Lance’s throat move with a swallow. He huffed out a breath and did his best to ignore the warmth simmering under his skin as Lance did it again. 

Keith dipped his own shrimp into cocktail sauce before taking his own bite and moaning himself. He knew the sound he made was slightly deeper than Lance’s, knew it had a bit more purpose, knew he was keeping eye contact, knew he was beginning to smirk as he watched Lance’s eyes widen, pupils dilate, breath hitch, cheeks pinken. 

He repeated the sound, keeping it low enough for just the two of them, before Lance raised his hands in surrender. 

“O-kay! That’s enough.” 

Keith raised his eyebrows in what he hoped was an expression of innocent surprise. 

“Point made,” Lance replied with an eye roll before he met Keith’s eyes again with a genuine smile. 

* * *

They went home so they could bring Kosmo out for their walk down to the ice cream parlor where he bought Lance his first ice cream cone. 

Then Lance made a show of walking Keith to his door, toeing the ground even when they reached Keith’s door as he tried to appear shy through his patent smile as he thanked Keith for a wonderful night out. 

Keith pulled him in for a sticky, ice cream-flavored kiss, made even better when Lance wasn’t shy about pushing Keith against the door of the apartment to reciprocate. His hands were in Keith’s hair, chest pressed tight to Keith’s chest, and mouth hungry against Keith’s, all tentativeness from prior kisses gone. Keith could only wrap his hands around Lance’s back, hold on, and enjoy it. 

When Lance pulled away, his eyes were slightly dazed, but his smile was wide, and soon devolved into laughter, from them both, as they tumbled into the apartment finally and went about getting ready for bed. 

“Being tired is strange,” Lance said with a yawn as he pulled back the covers and climbed into bed in a new pair of soft sleep shorts. 

“C’mere,” Keith yawned, arm out in an invitation that Lance gladly accepted as he settled into Keith’s side so Keith could run his hands through his hair again to help send him to sleep. 

* * *

Keith needed to go back to work the next day. It was difficult climbing out of bed and away from where Lance had been spooning him. But... he did like the picture that was Lance nestled in their sheets. 

Lance was in the kitchen when he was finished with his shower, buttering toast and simultaneously checking out the sad contents of Keith’s fridge and cupboards. 

“I feel bad leaving you here all day,” Keith murmured as he accepted his plate of toast. 

“I could... Well, I was going to suggest I could meet you for lunch, but I don’t really know how to get to your office.” 

“And you really need a phone,” Keith said with a decided nod. “Come on, get dressed. We'll get you a phone this morning. I'll call the office and let them know I'll be in late.” 

So, he set Lance up with a phone and a quick tutorial on phone calls, texting, and the app that includes the city’s bus routes. He also handed over a credit card (despite Lance’s reluctance) and then said goodbye to Lance outside his office, because Lance wanted to try to use the bus to get home (despite Keith’s reluctance). 

Lance sent a text _and_ called him when he made it back to the apartment, letting Keith relax a bit in his office. And when he got home that night, Lance was safely ensconced on his couch, watching a movie. 

“Keith,” Lance lamented after a hello kiss, “there are so many movies, I'll never catch up.” 

They went on official date number two that night, out to the diner where Keith had had a previous date. Instead of overwhelming Keith with non-stop chatter, Lance listened as Keith haltingly told him about his day (until the stories rolled out smoothly as he got more comfortable talking about himself), caught Keith’s foot within his own feet beneath the table, and played tic-tac-toe with Keith on a napkin. 

They made it all the way into the apartment this time before Keith crowded Lance against the back of the apartment door in another end of date kiss. Lance’s hands dove back into his hair, letting those long fingers thread through the strands, sending shivers down Keith’s spine. He nipped at Lance’s lower lip and let his tongue delve into Lance’s mouth when it dropped open in a gasp. Lance’s tongue hesitantly met his before sliding smoothly against Keith’s and tightening his grip on Keith’s hair with a small pleased groan. 

That kiss had been harder to cut off. But Keith moved away (before going in for one more quick peck) before he pulled Lance off the door and shooed him to get ready for bed while he ran Kosmo outside. 

The next day, Keith kissed Lance goodbye at the door of the apartment as he headed to work. He rode the elevator down with Hunk, who commented on the grin Keith couldn’t keep off his face. 

Lance appeared with a knock on his office door and a proud grin on his face (from working out the bus system for transportation) at lunchtime. They only had time to run to a nearby deli, but Lance enjoyed the sandwich and Keith enjoyed the company. 

And when Keith arrived home that night, he found Lance with dinner on the table. He greeted Kosmo at the door and then wrapped Lance in a hug before he sat and smiled at the set table and hot food. 

“I, uh, saw a movie with a meal like this, so I researched a how-to guide and went to the store to buy the ingredients,” Lance rambled as he dished spaghetti into Keith’s bowl. “I mean, the salad is just from a bag, so hopefully its good. And the garlic bread literally just went into the oven for five minutes, so no big deal, there.” 

“Hey, Lance?” 

Lance stopped talking and stared at him. 

“This smells really good. I'm already so impressed.” 

Lance’s answering smile was equal parts gratitude and relief. And it grew when Keith began to make appreciative noises with each bite, even if Lance did kick his chair in retaliation. 

They took Kosmo to the dog park after dinner, even as Keith complained that he was too full to move. 

“That’s because you ate three helpings,” Lance laughed, pulling Keith out the door with one hand while he held Kosmo’s leash in his other. “I was hoping you’d have leftovers for your lunch tomorrow, but I guess not.” 

“Guess you’ll just have to come eat lunch with me again,” Keith said, sliding an arm around Lance’s waist and pulling him in close on the elevator ride. He rested his head against Lance’s shoulder and then began to lean his weight into him as well. 

When the door opened and Lance realized that Keith was not only _not_ moving, but that he was now depending on Lance to hold up his body weight, Lance nearly collapsed in laughter as the both of them nearly fell over. 

“I’m not carrying you!” 

They eventually made it to the dog park, much to Kosmo’s delight. And Lance surprised them both when he opened the bag he’d brought and revealed a new Nerf tennis ball blaster gun, allowing him and Keith to sit close together and relax on a bench as he repeatedly shot tennis balls across the field for Kosmo to fetch. 

* * *

The next night Lance mentioned that although Keith hadn’t had any disastrous movie dates under Lance’s supervision, there was a movie in theaters he’d kind of like to see, so would Keith mind if — and Keith had pulled up the theater’s app to check movie times before Lance even finished his request. 

Soon they had perfect center seats in the auditorium, plus drinks and popcorn to share between them. Lance was so adorably excited to just sit back in his seat and watch an entire movie. 

Which is why Keith had to seriously wonder if Lance knew what he was doing with the hand that had started out by leaving small trails of sensation around Keith’s knee at the beginning of the movie, which had begun to trail up his thigh higher and higher as the movie continued. 

“Am I bothering you?” Lance leaned in to innocently ask. 

“No,” Keith replied, voice a low gravel sound that Keith noticed made one side of Lance’s mouth tick up. 

He threaded his fingers in with Lance’s when another high pass had him shifting in his seat. And then watched Lance settle further in his own seat with a small, satisfied smile. 

Keith rubbed his thumb over the back of Lance’s hand. And waited until the credits were rolling (so Lance could claim to have watched an entire movie in the theater) before he hurried Lance up out of his seat, out of the building, and into his car so that he could pay Lance back with a kiss that wouldn’t have been appropriate in front of fellow movie-goers as Keith practically climbed over the center console to attach his mouth to Lance’s neck. 

That night, as Lance began to doze on his chest, Keith’s own body relaxed as he breathed in Lance’s citrusy clean scent. He thought about how the sheets on the bed had been replaced with something with a higher thread count, about the new blankets on the back of the couch, the new shampoo and lotion bottles in the bathroom. Lance seemed intent on making everything softer and more comfortable. 

Keith loved it. 

* * *

The next morning Lance suggested another original date. He’d been doing some research about the area and found a nearby cavern that offered tours. 

“I’ve never been in one of these before, but the pictures looked cool,” Lance stated as they headed down the ramp into the cavern opening. 

“I think I came here on a school field trip once,” Keith said as he pulled off his sweatshirt and offered it to Lance when he saw him shiver in his t-shirt. “Sorry I forgot that the cavern itself stays a consistent cool temp despite the weather outside.” 

Lance pulled the sweatshirt on, sniffing the collar in an obvious fashion as he did so, before beaming at Keith in thanks. 

They followed their tour group, which was a considerable size, likely given to it being a cloudy Saturday outside. Keith half-listened to the tour guide discuss the difference between stalactites and stalagmites and half watched Lance’s awed expression as he took it all in. 

Being an attentive tour group member didn’t mean Lance wasn’t also attentive to Keith. At the first few stops on the tour, Lance slid his fingers slowly up and down Keith’s bare arm. That soon devolved into Lance planted behind him, chin hooked over Keith’s shoulder and arm looped around Keith’s waist, hand still but thumb subtly rubbing along the edge of Keith’s waistband. Keith shuddered and Lance pressed a smile into his neck in response. 

And when the group was moving? Keith quickly realized that if was ahead of Lance on the narrow path, Lance’s hands would still be on him, as he bit back a surprised yelp when his ass was squeezed. 

He spun around, grateful they’d stuck to the back, because when he saw Lance’s coy smirk, he pushed his ridiculous boyfriend into a dark corner and pressed a hard kiss to his mouth. Lance’s hands dove immediately into his hair, but instead of threading his fingers through the strands as Keith had become accustomed to with their prior kisses, Lance gave a tug to a small handful to pull Keith’s head back, baring his neck so that Lance could attach his mouth to it. The sudden groan Keith released echoed off the cavern wall. 

“Good at that,” Keith groaned as he dragged Lance closer by the waist. 

“Had a good teacher,” Lance whispered into his skin. 

Water dripped around them and people murmured nearby as they posed for photos. 

Keith didn’t hear any of it as he clung to Lance and let Lance fill his senses. 

“Cavern hickey,” Lance whispered with a grin when he popped off Keith’s neck. 

“Best kind of souvenir,” Keith chuckled. “C’mere, you need one, too.” 

* * *

Yes, it was fun to see Keith get flustered. And it was also sweet to watch Keith hold himself back because he didn’t want to rush Lance into bed. Lance understood that Keith saw them as a long-term forever kind of love. Understood that they had _all the time_ to get to the bedroom. 

He was still going to keep pushing at all the buttons he kept finding on Keith until the dude gave in and cracked. 

* * *

Keith swallowed hard when he walked in the door and found Lance waiting for him in a tank top and a pair of running shorts. 

“You’re home!” Lance said with a smile. 

Just — broad shoulders and legs — how were his legs that long? He was barely taller than Keith! 

“Keith?” Lance said, tone evident that it wasn’t the first time he’d said Keith’s name. 

“Yes?” 

“Running date time. Go get changed.” Lance’s sly grin told Keith his ogling hadn't gone unnoticed. 

Keith figured Lance thought this was another great way to fluster him. And he was right. Lance running, working those long legs was a beautiful sight to behold. 

However, it didn’t last long, and Keith tried to keep from laughing as the running date seemed to backfire on Lance. 

“I’m dying,” Lance panted. 

“You’re not,” Keith said with a pat to Lance’s back as Lance stood bent at the waist. “You’re just not used to running.” 

“I can’t breathe.” 

“Your lungs will eventually get used to it.” 

“Used to what? Their job is to inhale and exhale, right? This is their one job!” 

“You’ll catch your breath faster if you stop whining,” Keith teased. 

“Oh my Cupid, this is the actual worst.” 

“Do you want me to carry you home? You can get on my back.” 

“No! You're not carrying me back. You had to help your last running date back and I refuse to ruin this run for you.” 

“We can do a... brisk walk back?” 

“Yeah, lets brisk walk. And just call it running.” 

“Okay.” Keith began taking a few steps away but paused when Lance continued to pant from his bent position instead of joining him. “I’ll just give you another minute.” 

“Come back, wings, I need you!” 

* * *

“How’d the running go earlier?” Hunk asked. 

“Holy Cupid, why am I sweating? Baby, come here,” Lance used sauce-covered fingers to drag Keith in by his t-shirt and claim his mouth for an insistent, hard kiss. 

Keith eyed him when Lance pulled away, he wasn’t sure what that was about, but he also wasn’t complaining. 

“Kiss it better!” Lance tried to explain. “Kiss it better didn’t work for this? My lips are burning. Hunk what’s up with your chicken?” 

“Lance, I told you, these are called hot wings.” 

“I didn’t realize they would make me hot!” 

“Hot- _ter_ ,” Keith mumbled before taking another bite of his own wing. 

“Here, Lance,” Shay offered him a glass of milk. 

“Thank you, Shay,” Lance said after a few grateful gulps of milk. “And to answer your question, Hunk, the running date was as perfect as all of our dates, _but_ I have made the difficult decision to give up running.” 

Keith chuckled around his next bite while Shay murmured, “I told you you wouldn't like it.” 

* * *

“Oh, hey, baby, can I show you how that’s done?” Lance asked, voice mockingly sultry as he leaned himself over Keith’s back and wrapped his hand around the hand Keith was using to hold his pool cue. 

Keith snorted. He bumped his hips back against Lance, and teasing or not, it still effectively worked to grind Keith’s perfect ass against his groin for a moment. Lance lifted himself off Keith’s back and sucked in another breath when Keith remained bent over the pool table but glanced at Lance over his shoulder with lidded purple eyes. 

Then Keith apparently decided to go ahead and _go in for the kill_ as he pushed himself upright and planted one end of his cue on the ground so he could lean his weight against it as he said, “Are you sure you want to work with me on my stick moves?” 

With what Lance knew of Keith as his former Cupid, and what he had been learning about him recently as his boyfriend, he knew innuendos didn’t come naturally to Keith, and Lance warmed as he watched red travel up Keith’s neck as he adorably flirted, even as his expression remained coy despite the blush. 

Lance shifted his weight to one hip and let his eyes travel purposefully slow from Keith’s pretty face to where his strong and steady hands gripped the cue, to his tiny waist, and down to where Keith’s muscular legs were currently wrapped in tight black jeans, before rising back to Keith’s face. 

Keith was beautiful and sweet and patient and Lance _wanted those hands on him yesterday_. And his appraisal had not gone unnoticed, if Keith’s newly dilated pupils were anything to go by. 

“Yes,” Lance said with a sure nod, voice thick. “You might have to actually take the lead, though. But, yeah. Can we do that?” 

Lance learned quickly that if he asked Keith for something, Keith did his absolute best to give it to him as quickly as possible. 

The cue was dropped to the table. Lance’s hand was snug in Keith’s grip as he was pulled out of the bar and down the sidewalk for the two blocks back to their apartment. 

Lance could feel the nervous butterflies with each step, but as they entered their building’s elevator, Keith stepped in close as if to kiss him but stopped just short of it. He bumped his nose gently to Lance’s instead, and kept his eyes locked on Lance’s as he slowly smiled before pressing their lips together gently. 

Lance let his own eyes slip shut as he enjoyed the kiss, as he let the love and lust he’d been feeling for the past few weeks overcome those nerves, even if the nerves were going to stick around for a bit. 

Once they were inside their apartment, Keith immediately lifted him up, hands under Lance’s thighs in a show of easy strength. Lance glanced down at the ground before saying to Keith, “Now that’s a head rush.” 

“Hopefully not the only one I'm giving you tonight,” Keith disclosed, voice breathy with his own excitement. 

Keith carried him into their room and dropped him gently to their bed and it became Lance’s new favorite thing. Keith’s mouth was soon on his neck, working with more purpose than ever before, from Lance’s experience with neck kisses from Keith, and Lance writhed beneath him, hands tugging at Keith’s hair and it all became his new favorite thing. 

He felt those vulnerable strings in his chest again as Keith gently pulled his clothes away (he was a bit more rushed in getting Keith’s clothes off him) but that utterly fond and loving gleam in Keith’s eyes kept him calm and undressing with Keith became his new favorite thing. 

Lance’s skin felt raw and overly sensitive but also electric and hot. He handed himself over to Keith. Trusted himself to Keith. And Keith taking his time moving his fingertips and then his mouth over him became his new favorite thing. 

Because while having a body isn’t new to him, this is new. Gaining pleasure for his body by being touched is new _and_ his new favorite thing. Watching and listening to Keith’s reactions as he touches Keith in return — he’ll never forget the deep moaning sound Keith made the first time he put his own mouth on Keith’s sensitive skin — is his new favorite thing. 

Keith sinking inside him is his new favorite thing. The way Keith languidly rolls his hips and keeps that pace until Lance is ready for more is his new favorite thing. 

Basking in the afterglow is definitely his new favorite thing. 

“Keith. _Keith_.” 

Keith hummed in response but didn’t otherwise move from where he’d fallen onto the mattress next to Lance. 

“Keith. Baby. That was...” 

“Yeah,” Keith agreed. “I know.” 

“I mean, right at that peak, _Keith_ — I only knew _you_ and _pleasure_ and _white._ Is that a thing?"

Keith hummed again with an affirmative noise. 

"I literally forgot everything else. I probably didn't even know my own name then, holy Cupid... Hey, Keith?" 

“Hmm?” 

Lance rolled from his back to his side so he could see Keith’s face better. He waited for Keith to open an eye and look at him. 

“We are so doing that again.” 

Keith’s smile is always going to be his favorite thing. 

It’s addictive. Addictive in that once they start, they almost don’t leave their bedroom for at least three days (Lance sort of lost count of the days). Keith called in sick to work (prior to Lance entering his life, Keith hadn’t used any of his sick leave in the almost three years he’d been with the company, his coworkers would survive a day or two without him). They’d shower and brush teeth and shave away prickly facial hair, but as soon as they were refreshed, clothes would be pushed away again to make way for hands and mouths to be free to touch. 

Keith is heavy on top of him and he feels grounded. And when he’s heavy on top of Keith, he feels grounded. 

It’s so unbelievably satisfying. 

Hunk tried to text after a couple days to invite them for dinner and Keith texted their regrets and apologized that they were a little busy. 

Hunk’s return text of ‘ _OH, you guys hit the honeymoon stage. Got it. See you on the other side'_ told Lance and Keith that he fully understood. 

“What other side,” Lance murmured, tossing Keith’s phone back on the bedside table. “There is no other side to this. We’re never leaving this stage. Or this bed.” 

Keith didn’t even take the time to laugh, just pulled Lance back to him and went back to kissing him. 

They tried to move to the couch once just to try to watch a movie while they ate a meal, but as soon as the last bite was taken, Lance found himself in Keith’s lap, moving against him with a suggestion that couldn’t be misunderstood. 

Keith was consistently sweet and yielding and Lance followed his lead. Keith shared himself with Lance and Lance shared himself with Keith and he somehow fell even more in love with him. 

But if not for Kosmo, they likely wouldn’t have gotten any fresh air at all. 

* * *

When they finally ventured out of the apartment, Lance decided he’d take the time to redeem the golf date with mini golf. Partly because Keith was banned from the main local golf course and partly because he thought mini golf looked like more fun. 

Twenty minutes into it and Lance did not think it was fun at all. His ball kept flying off the course and it wasn’t long before he was quietly cursing at the overly friendly animal statures decorating the course. Why had they even left their bed? 

His frustration was apparently cute to Keith, because the adorable jerk was _not at all_ hiding his laughter and wide smiles. And, okay, Lance didn’t really mind making Keith smile. 

At the sixth hole, Keith sidled up behind him when it was Lance’s turn, slid his hands over Lance’s and attempted to teach him how to _gently_ hit his small golf ball into the course. 

It would’ve been sweet, since Keith had finally decided to help instead of laugh, but having Keith’s body and scent wrapped around him was only going to result in one reaction at this point. Lance pressed back against him and twisted enough so that he could reach Keith’s mouth over his shoulder for a kiss. 

They quickly turned in their golf clubs and hurried back home. 

* * *

“We're not redoing the date with the bar and rash guy, are we?” 

“No, Keith, we’re never even going near that place again.” 

* * *

When Keith came home that day, he told Lance he’d take Kosmo out alone, because it was raining, and Lance could stay inside where it was warm and dry. 

Lance had tilted his head with the most adorable head tilt in the history of head tilts. Then he accompanied Keith outside anyway to check out the rain. 

Lance immediately pushed back the hood that Keith had pulled up while they’d been in the elevator and let his head fall back as he stared up at the sky and let the rain hit his face. He inhaled deeply, and Keith mimicked him, letting his nose fill with petrichor, a scent he hadn't stopped to appreciate in a long while. 

Lance slowly spun in place before pinning a grin on Keith. 

Lance had commented a few times now since moving in with Keith about needing a job, about needing to contribute. Keith wished Lance could see all the ways he did contribute. Wished he had the words to explain how much happier he was now than before Lance ever appeared in his life. 

And after seeing his reaction to the rain, and remembering what Lance had said about actually enjoying the smell at the Shrimp Shack, Keith packed them up, dropped Kosmo with Hunk and Shay, and drove the two of them the three hours to the beach for a night. 

Lance walked himself directly into the surf and only stopped when the waves were hitting his thighs. There was a purposeful inhale and exhale, which Keith happily mimicked. And then he tackled Keith into the water with a hug. 

When they checked into their room, Keith asked for a recommendation on the best seafood restaurant for dinner. And after an afternoon spent in the sand and water, they cleaned up and headed out to eat. They ended up rushing back to the room after Lance made a comment during dinner where he wondered if hotel sex was any different than home sex. 

“Ridiculous,” Keith whispered as he tugged at Lance’s shirt when they were finally back in their room. “You realize you barely have to do anything, say anything to get me worked up, right?” 

“You love it,” Lance replied with a laugh as he tugged off Keith’s shirt. “And so do I.” 

Keith wondered how they could’ve gone from that to barely speaking just over a day later. 

During their car ride home, Lance commented that Keith was spending too much money on him and that he was going to go out and try to find a job. 

“I’ve told you so many times, Lance, you don’t need a job.” 

“So now you’re saying I'm not only a mooch, but I also don’t listen to you.” 

“You’re not a mooch! I actually met you while you were working!” 

“But I'm not working now!” 

It had been the longest three hours of Keith’s life. He wasn’t sure how they came to be yelling at each other. He wasn’t sure how to stop it. And he sure as hell wasn’t sure how to impress upon Lance that this wasn’t worth worrying about (in fact every time he tried to suggest that, Lance only seemed to get more agitated and the arguing would start all over). 

Keith picked up Kosmo from Hunk and Shay when they finally reached their apartment building again, and when he came back to their place, he found Lance had already jumped in the shower. So, he unpacked and fed Kosmo dinner and then waited patiently on the couch in the living room, television on but muted. 

When Lance finally joined him, over an hour had passed, but Lance’s features were still set in a light scowl as he dropped to the other end of the couch, arms crossed tightly over his chest and as far from Keith as he could manage. 

“I kinda want to run away to Hunk’s,” Lance said honestly, “but, I'm not going to leave you. I don’t mention it often, but I _was_ handed a file on Keith Kogane before we met and I know my leaving will hurt you more than I want it to. So. I’m here. But I'm still mad at you.” 

Keith felt something loosen in his chest immediately. The fear of Lance up and leaving was a fear he probably would never admit to. Lance respecting that, even though he was angry with Keith, had Keith wanting to mend this rift even quicker. He tried to think about what Lance might need, the way Lance was thinking about his needs. 

“Having acknowledged that,” Keith said slowly, “which I appreciate. I'd understand if you do want to take some time to cool off at Hunk and Shay’s. Not that I want you to go,” he added quickly when Lance finally looked at him. 

It seemed that once Lance met his eyes, he couldn’t look away, so Keith kept that eye contact with him. 

“I don’t want to fight with you, Keith,” Lance finally said, voice tired. 

“I definitely don’t want to fight with you, either,” Keith echoed. 

Lance offered a nod. “Although... You know, I’ve seen lovers fight before. It’s one of the few times a Cupid would be called back to a charge after a successful match. But I never really understood it. I didn’t understand why anyone would shout and say mean things to someone they love. Someone they know loves them in return. But, uh” — Lance finally glanced away from Keith to stare at the quiet television — “I think I get it now.” 

Keith shrugged, still confused, and wanting that eye contact back. “You get what?” 

“I didn’t feel like you were listening to me before. It was like, the only way left to say it was to shout it at you.” 

“Oh.” Keith turned away to also stare at the lucky people in the reality cooking show who were definitely not having their first fight with their boyfriend right now. “I guess I get that.” He released a deep sigh, once again deep in thought. He didn’t want a repeat of the circling argument they’d had the entire way home, so instead he faced Lance again and said, “I don’t think I realized how worried you were about getting a job. I don’t — I don’t want you to be worried about that” — Lance opened his mouth, ready to protest again, Keith could see, so he began to talk faster — “but I shouldn’t have brushed it off.” 

Lance’s eye contact and grateful smile were his reward. 

“I’m sorry I kept doing that,” Keith added. 

Lance let his arms drop and scooted closer to Keith on the couch. 

“Do you have any ideas for a job you might like?” Keith asked. 

Lance shook his head. “No, but it’s a nice place to start. Maybe you could help me come up with ideas?” 

Keith nodded. “Yeah, I can do that with you.” 

Lance leaned in and Keith’s arms were already opening to pull him into the hug he was offering. “Thanks, baby,” he whispered into Keith’s neck. “I feel better already. And I like knowing that we can fight, and still come out okay on the other side of it. It’s another layer of trust to share with you. You know?” 

Keith nodded in return and pressed a kiss to Lance’s temple. 

* * *

Lance had had a few cooking lessons from Hunk — sometimes Keith even joined them, even if he was often there as a taste tester instead of a hopeful chef. 

And when Lance attempted the recipes on his own at their place, Keith could usually be found sitting on a nearby counter, offering ridiculous and _not helpful_ tips about adding a _pinch_ of steak to their countertop grill or a _dollop_ of eggs to his breakfast casserole. 

Lance obviously had no choice but to plant himself between Keith’s hanging legs and kiss him to keep Keith’s mouth busy. 

Lance had been pretty nervous to meet Keith’s brother, Shiro and his husband. But he’d busied himself cooking some of Keith’s favorite foods and one bite into the meal Shiro had declared that Keith should marry Lance because Lance was obviously more capable than Keith at keeping Keith alive. 

Shiro had been so happy about the food, he hadn’t even asked them how they’d met. Just happily ate and told Lance stories about Keith consisting on meals of cereal or cheese crackers through college. 

And while Keith could not cook, Keith was a fun grocery shopping partner. Lance learned quickly that grocery shopping was one of those _no fun_ human things that was just better when Keith was with him. Probably because as Lance filled their cart with ingredients for that week’s planned meals, Keith liked to make deadpan remarks to complete strangers such as, “Mustard goes great with that” or “I wouldn't touch that unless its organic.” 

Lance’s favorites moments are when Keith aims the suggestions at people buying things like donuts. 

* * *

When Keith’s alarm sounded that morning, he rolled over to find Lance already awake, staring at the ceiling with a familiar look of worry on his face. 

“Sweetheart,” Keith murmured, “did you sleep?” 

Lance offered half a shrug and Keith let his head slump onto Lance’s shoulder. 

“It would be nice if you found a job you love as much as your last job,” Keith mumbled. 

“Okay, now I feel like you’re just complimenting yourself” — Keith knew his smile was pretty self-satisfied — “but I can’t argue with you because I did fall in love with my last job.” 

“You _will_ get a job,” Keith murmured. “But until then, I want to enjoy this.” 

“Me living rent free in your apartment?” 

“ _Our_ apartment,” Keith corrected, lifting his head to press a kiss to the tip of Lance’s nose, thinking of the seashells, movie tickets, and framed photos of the two of them that Lance had scattered around their home. “And I just mean that I'm enjoying the image of you all sleepy and comfortable in our bed in the morning, and I love knowing you’re here keeping Kosmo company while I’m gone, and I love coming home to you every day.” Lance let his own fingers slide through Keith’s hair to encourage him to keep going. “One day you will have a job and then who knows what our schedules will look like. We might be running all over, with schedules that leave us missing each other —” 

“Okay,” Lance whispered, cutting him off before he leaned over to press his lips to Keith’s forehead. “I love all those things, too, so — okay.” Keith gave him a peck of a kiss before he tried to leave their bed, only to be tugged back into Lance’s side. “You weren’t thinking of _leaving_ me in this big bed all by myself right now were you?” 

Keith laughed even as he said, “I’m going to be late.” He gasped as Lance’s mouth attached itself to his neck. “I’m — _Lance_ — I’m going to remember these tactics when you’re supposed to be leaving for work.” 

Keith’s thoughts kept returning to that conversation all throughout his day. He didn’t want this mooching thing to worry Lance to the point where he began to regret being with Keith. Or regret being _human_. But, in all honesty, while Lance had been gifted a few necessary human documents and identification from a friend Lance said was named Pidge, that didn’t hide the fact that Lance didn’t have any real experience to put on a resume, something that was going to look pretty shady to any potential employers. 

He pulled up the album on his phone and thumbed through the numerous photos he’d taken of the two of them on their recent dates. He thought about how Lance carefully planned each one. An idea struck him, one that he broached with Lance that night over their dinner. 

“You want me to post about our dates online?” 

“Well,” Keith paused, studying Lance’s expression, “you just — you’re so thoughtful with each date and —” 

“Because I want you to have a good time,” Lance supplied, face covered in an expression of honest confusion. 

“Right! And, Lance, listen, I'd have a good time with you at the _dentist_ , okay?” He smiled at the small grin that pulled from Lance. “But you plan these fun activities and I feel —” he paused for a moment, vulnerability rearing in his chest. But when he met Lance’s gaze again, and saw the sweet bashfulness in those blue eyes, he pushed on “— I feel really special, Lance. In a way I never have before, and that’s all because _you_ want me to feel special. You have a real gift,” he rushed out. 

It was hard to feel embarrassed for sharing so much when the reward was a lapful of Lance in the next moment. His hands landed on Lance’s hips while Lance’s arms were wrapped around his neck as he sealed his mouth over Keith’s mouth in a kiss that likely meant to show gratitude but really just had Keith forgetting their dinner as he pushed to his feet and carried Lance towards their bedroom. 

“What does all that have to do with me getting a job?” Lance murmured as his mouth moved down to Keith’s neck. 

Keith hummed a question in response as he kicked their door shut behind them, forbidding Kosmo from the room for now. 

Lance pulled away from his neck, giving Keith the ability to think clearly again. “Sharing our date stuff?” Keith set Lance down on their bed. Lance thought about how he’d been tossed on their bed a few times before, but the way Keith was slowly crawling up his body with those deep purple eyes pinning him in place was fun too. 

“Just share what you know," Keith whispered, mouth close but not touching. “I think you could help a lot of people.” 

* * *

Keith came up with the _Lancelot_ username and Hunk helped him set up a blogging space online. 

And when Keith left for work that day, Lance set about creating his first of many posts about his and Keith’s dates. He didn’t include personal pictures unless he could somehow crop their faces out of the photos (per a suggestion from Shay) and focused on the part of each date that he remembered best — which was usually the part that either made them both laugh or led to a really great kiss. 

* * *

The comments from readers (most of which were friendly) were fun. He was interacting with people and sharing stories and providing tips when people asked for ideas on how to improve their own date ideas. 

But the best part was the feeling of accomplishment he felt when he felt like he had helped someone. He’d missed that feeling. 

And it wasn’t long before he was awoken one morning, before even Keith's alarm, to a loud beep from his phone, indicating an email. He read it twice before he shook Keith awake to have him read it as well, just to confirm that he was definitely reading a job offer from an online magazine who wanted him to take over a dating advice column. 

Keith’s smile was so damn proud. Lance pounced on top of him and kissed him hard before he began leaving kisses all over his face. 

“Holy Cupid,” Lance whispered when he pulled back and sat up, still firmly planted on Keith’s lap. “I have a job.” 

“Helping people with their love lives,” Keith responded with a grin as he let his hands slide up Lance’s legs to his hips. “It’s amazing.” 

“I have a job,” Lance repeated with a laugh. Then he dove to the side and stumbled out of the bed before grabbing his nearby pants and shoving a leg in. “I have to go tell Hunk!” 

“Hey!” Keith said. “They’re still going to be asleep!” Lance almost tripped as he hopped towards their bedroom door and tried to get his other leg into his pants. “Your clothes are going in the wrong direction!” 

That had Lance laughing. He hopped back towards their bed and let Keith pull him back into his arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apiegohome mentioned Lance “falling in love with his job” and I had to steal that phrase and use it in this chapter. 
> 
> Thank you again for coming along with me as I wrote this story. Plot points changed and GOT BETTER as you all contributed with your comments. I really can’t thank you enough <3
> 
> I hope this story helped ease the time as we are quarantined or practicing social distancing. Please stay safe out there.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [Tumblr here!](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/reader115)


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